Meaning
electric; electricity; electrical
Chinese: 电能、电信。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “dian” becomes a different word in each tone. 电 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
- 电话diàn huàtelephone; phone call; phone number
- 电影diàn yǐngmovie; film
- 电视diàn shìtelevision; TV
- 电脑diàn nǎocomputer
- 打电话dǎ diàn huàto make a telephone call
Example Sentence
请帮我打开电灯。Qǐng bāng wǒ dǎ kāi diàn dēng.Please turn on the light for me.
请Qǐngto ask帮bāngto help我wǒI打开dǎ kāito open电灯diàn dēngelectric light。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Originally a streak of lightning (related to 申). The traditional 電 added 雨 (rain) on top; the simplified 电 keeps just the lightning bolt and means ‘lightning → electricity’.
A way to remember it
A bolt with a tail hooking out at the bottom — electricity.