卧 wò — to lie; to crouch
一只小猫安静地卧在窗台上。Yì zhī xiǎo māo ān jìng de wò zài chuāng tái shàng.A kitten lies quietly on the windowsill.
Common words: 卧室 (wò shì)、卧铺 (wò pù)、动卧 (dòng wò)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to lie"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to lie", including 卧 (wò), 谎 (huǎng). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to lie" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 卧 (wò), 谎 (huǎng) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span wò, huǎng — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 卧 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 卧 wòto lie; to crouchUseful words: 卧室, 卧铺
- 谎 huǎnglies; to lieUseful words: 撒谎, 谎言
Common words for these 2 "to lie" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 卧 (wò) — so "to lie" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
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 lie".
谎 huǎng — lies; to lie
做人要诚实，不应该撒谎。Zuò rén yào chéng shí, bù yīng gāi sā huǎng.One should be honest and not tell lies.
Common words: 撒谎 (sā huǎng)、谎言 (huǎng yán)、说谎 (shuō huǎng)
All 2 characters
Open 卧、谎 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.