想 xiǎng — to think; to believe; to suppose; to wish; to want; to miss
我想喝一杯热牛奶。Wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi rè niú nǎi.I want to drink a cup of hot milk.
Common words: 想到 (xiǎng dào)、想法 (xiǎng fǎ)、想起 (xiǎng qǐ)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to miss"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to miss", including 想 (xiǎng), 失 (shī), 误 (wù). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to miss" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 想 (xiǎng), 失 (shī), 误 (wù) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xiǎng, shī, wù — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 想 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 想 xiǎngto think; to believe; to suppose; to wish; to want; to missUseful words: 想到, 想法
- 失 shīto lose; to miss; to failUseful words: 失去, 消失
- 误 wùmistake; error; to miss; to harm; to delay; to neglectUseful words: 错误, 误会
Common words for these 3 "to miss" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 想 (xiǎng) — so "to miss" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
想到xiǎng dàoto think of; to call to mind; to anticipate想法xiǎng fǎway of thinking; opinion; notion; to think of a way (to do sth)想起xiǎng qǐto recall; to think of; to call to mind失去shī qùto lose消失xiāo shīto disappear; to fade away失败shī bàito be defeated; to lose; to fail (e.g. experiments); failure错误cuò wùmistaken; false; wrong; error误会wù huìto misunderstand; to mistake; misunderstanding失误shī wùlapse; mistake; to make a mistake; fault
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 3 ways to say "to miss".
失 shī — to lose; to miss; to fail
我把钥匙丢失了。Wǒ bǎ yào shi diū shī le.I lost my keys.
Common words: 失去 (shī qù)、消失 (xiāo shī)、失败 (shī bài)
误 wù — mistake; error; to miss; to harm; to delay; to neglect
这次的错误让他记住了教训。Zhè cì de cuò wù ràng tā jì zhù le jiào xun.This mistake taught him a lesson.
Common words: 错误 (cuò wù)、误会 (wù huì)、失误 (shī wù)
All 3 characters
Open 想、失、误 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.