Browse "Verb" Characters

Every character has an origin. Discover the pictographs, myths, and history behind each Chinese character — with pinyin, stroke order, HSK level, and audio pronunciation.

校对

jiào duì

‘校对’ (jiào duì) refers to the careful proces

读书

dú shū

'读书' literally combines '读' (dú), meaning 'to

书写

shū xiě

书写 (shū xiě) is a verb meaning 'to write (by h

明白

míng bái

‘明白’ (míng bái) is a verb meaning ‘to under

打字

dǎ zì

‘打字’ literally means ‘to strike characters’

打酱油

dǎ jiàngyóu

‘打酱油’ literally means ‘to buy soy sauce’, a

打伞

dǎ sǎn

'Dǎ sǎn' literally combines 打 (dǎ), meaning 't

打篮球

dǎ lánqiú

'Dǎ lánqiú' literally combines 'dǎ' (to hit/be

打扫

dǎsǎo

‘打扫’ (dǎsǎo) is a compound verb meaning ‘to

打电话

dǎ diànhuà

'Dǎ diànhuà' literally combines three character

想想

xiǎng xiang

‘想想’ is a reduplicated verb formed by repeatin

想到

xiǎng dào

想到 (xiǎng dào) is a separable verb meaning 'to

想象

xiǎng xiàng

想象 (xiǎng xiàng) is a verb meaning 'to imagine

想念

xiǎng niàn

想念 (xiǎng niàn) is a verb meaning 'to miss'—s

影响

yǐng xiǎng

The word 影响 (yǐng xiǎng) literally combines 影

减少

jiǎnshǎo

减少 (jiǎnshǎo) is a transitive verb meaning 'to

缺少

quēshǎo

缺少 is a verb meaning 'to lack' or 'to be short o

写信

xiě xìn

‘写信’ literally means ‘to write + letter’ and

做客

zuò kè

'做客' literally means 'to do guest' — a verb phr

认字

rèn zì

‘认字’ literally means ‘to recognize characters

写字

xiě zì

"Xiě zì" literally means "to write characters" a

坐地铁

zuò dì tiě

'坐地铁' literally means 'sit on the subway' but f

坐船

zuò chuán

'Zuò chuán' literally combines 'zuò' (to sit) a

坐飞机

zuò fēi jī

'Zuò fēi jī' literally means 'to sit on a flyin

坐车

zuò chē

'坐车' literally means 'to sit + vehicle', and fun

坐下

zuò xià

'坐下' (zuò xià) is a separable verb meaning 'to

回头

huí tóu

回头 literally means 'to turn one's head back' —

回答

huí dá

回答 (huí dá) is a verb meaning 'to answer' — s

回家

huí jiā

回家 (huí jiā) literally means 'return home' —

要吗

yào ma

'要吗' (yào ma) is a common, informal question ph

可以吗

kěyǐ ma

'可以吗' (kěyǐ ma) is a polite, interrogative ph

喝果汁

hē guǒ zhī

'Hē guǒ zhī' literally combines three character

喝奶

hē nǎi

‘喝奶’ is a compound verb meaning 'to drink milk

喝汤

hē tāng

‘喝汤’ is a verb meaning 'to drink soup' — lite

喝酒

hē jiǔ

"Hē jiǔ" literally combines 喝 (hē), meaning "t

喝茶

hē chá

'Hē chá' literally means 'drink tea'—a compound

喜欢

xǐ huān

'喜欢' (xǐ huān) is a verb meaning 'to like' —

喂饭

wèi fàn

‘喂饭’ is a compound verb meaning 'to feed someo

喂药

wèi yào

'喂药' (wèi yào) is a verb meaning 'to administe

喂鱼

wèi yú

'喂鱼' literally combines '喂' (wèi), meaning 'to