Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

(surname)

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “cai” becomes a different word in each tone. 蔡 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 上蔡shàng càisee 上蔡县
  • 新蔡xīn càisee 新蔡县
  • 蔡伦cài lúnCai Lun (-121), the inventor of the papermaking process
  • 蔡国强cài guó qiángCai Guoqiang (1957-), contemporary Chinese artist working with firework displays and light shows
  • 蔡英文cài yīng wénTsai Ing-wen (1956–), Taiwanese DPP politician, president of the Republic of China 2016–2024

Example Sentence

蔡伦改进了造纸的技术。Cài Lún gǎi jìn le zào zhǐ de jì shù.Cai Lun improved the technique of papermaking.

Cài(surname)Lúnhuman relationship改进gǎi jìnto improvele(completed action)造纸zào zhǐpapermakingdeof技术jì shùtechnology