Meaning
read aloud; to read aloud
Chinese: 想念、读出或念头。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “nian” becomes a different word in each tone. 念 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
- 纪念jì niànto commemorate; to honor the memory of; memento; keepsake
- 概念gài niànconcept; idea
- 观念guān niànnotion; thought; concept; sense
- 想念xiǎng niànto miss; to remember with longing; to long to see again
- 怀念huái niànto cherish the memory of; to think of; to reminisce
Example Sentence
请跟我念这个词。Qǐng gēn wǒ niàn zhè ge cí.Please read this word after me.
请Qǐngto ask跟gēnwith我wǒI念niànto read这个zhè ge(pronoun) this词cíword。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
今 (now / present) over 心 (heart): what is present in the heart. It means ‘to keep in mind / to miss / to read aloud’.
A way to remember it
Held in the heart right now — to keep in mind.
Easy to confuse with
- 今‘Now’: just the top part of 念, without the heart below.