信 xìn — letter; true; to believe; sign; evidence
我收到了一封朋友的信。Wǒ shōu dào le yì fēng péng you de xìn.I received a letter from a friend.
Common words: 相信 (xiāng xìn)、信息 (xìn xī)、信号 (xìn hào)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "letter"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "letter", including 信 (xìn), 书 (shū), 字 (zì), 函 (hán). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "letter" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 信 (xìn), 书 (shū), 字 (zì), 函 (hán) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xìn, shū, zì, hán — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 信 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 信 xìnletter; true; to believe; sign; evidenceUseful words: 相信, 信息
- 书 shūbook; letterUseful words: 读书, 图书馆
- 字 zìletter; symbol; character; wordUseful words: 名字, 汉字
- 函 hánenvelope; case; letterUseful words: 函授, 公函
Common words for these 4 "letter" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 信 (xìn) — so "letter" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
相信xiāng xìnto believe; to be convinced; to accept as true信息xìn xīinformation; news; message信号xìn hàosignal读书dú shūto read a book; to study; to attend school图书馆tú shū guǎnlibrary书店shū diànbookstore名字míng ziname (of a person or thing)汉字hàn zìChinese character(s)数字shù zìnumeral; digit; number; figure函授hán shòuto teach by correspondence
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "letter".
书 shū — book; letter
图书馆里有很多书。Tú shū guǎn lǐ yǒu hěn duō shū.There are many books in the library.
Common words: 读书 (dú shū)、图书馆 (tú shū guǎn)、书店 (shū diàn)
字 zì — letter; symbol; character; word
这个汉字一共有八画。Zhè ge hàn zì yí gòng yǒu bā huà.This Chinese character has eight strokes in total.
Common words: 名字 (míng zi)、汉字 (hàn zì)、数字 (shù zì)
函 hán — envelope; case; letter
学校给家长寄去了一封感谢函。Xué xiào gěi jiā zhǎng jì qù le yì fēng gǎn xiè hán.The school sent a thank-you letter to the parents.
Common words: 函授 (hán shòu)、公函 (gōng hán)、函人 (hán rén)
All 4 characters
Open 信、书、字 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.