受 shòu — to bear; to stand; to endure; (passive marker); to receive
他在比赛中受了伤。Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng shòu le shāng.He got injured in the match.
Common words: 接受 (jiē shòu)、受到 (shòu dào)、难受 (nán shòu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to endure"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to endure", including 受 (shòu), 忍 (rěn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to endure" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 受 (shòu), 忍 (rěn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shòu, rěn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 受 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 受 shòuto bear; to stand; to endure; (passive marker); to receiveUseful words: 接受, 受到
- 忍 rěnto beat; to endure; to tolerateUseful words: 忍不住, 忍受
Common words for these 2 "to endure" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 受 (shòu) — so "to endure" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
接受jiē shòuto accept (a suggestion, punishment, bribe etc); to acquiesce受到shòu dàoto receive (praise, an education, punishment etc); to be ...ed (praised, educated, punished etc)难受nán shòuto feel unwell; to suffer pain; to be difficult to bear忍不住rěn bu zhùcannot help; unable to bear忍受rěn shòuto bear; to endure残忍cán rěncruel; merciless; ruthless
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 2 ways to say "to endure".
忍 rěn — to beat; to endure; to tolerate
牙疼起来，真让人难以忍受。Yá téng qǐ lái, zhēn ràng rén nán yǐ rěn shòu.A toothache is really hard to bear.
Common words: 忍不住 (rěn bu zhù)、忍受 (rěn shòu)、残忍 (cán rěn)
All 2 characters
Open 受、忍 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.