着 zhe — catch; receive; suffer; part. indicates the successful result of a verb; to touch; to come in contact with
他笑着向我打招呼。Tā xiào zhe xiàng wǒ dǎ zhāo hu.He greeted me with a smile.
Common words: 接着 (jiē zhe)、着急 (zháo jí)、有着 (yǒu zhe)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to touch"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to touch", including 着 (zhe), 感 (gǎn), 摸 (mō / mó), 碰 (pèng). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to touch" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 着 (zhe), 感 (gǎn), 摸 (mō / mó), 碰 (pèng) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span zhe, gǎn, mō, mó, pèng — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 着 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 着 zhecatch; receive; suffer; part. indicates the successful result of a verb; to touch; to come in contact withUseful words: 接着, 着急
- 感 gǎnto feel; to move; to touch; to affectUseful words: 感觉, 感谢
- 摸 mō / mófeel with the hand; to touch; to stroke; to grope; to feel (one's pulse); imitateUseful words: 摸索, 触摸
- 碰 pèngto touch; to meet with; to bumpUseful words: 碰到, 碰见
Common words for these 4 "to touch" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 着 (zhe) — so "to touch" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
接着jiē zheto catch and hold on; to continue; to go on to do sth; to follow着急zháo jíto worry; to feel anxious; to feel a sense of urgency; to be in a hurry有着yǒu zheto have; to possess感觉gǎn juéfeeling; impression; sensation; to feel感谢gǎn xièto thank; to be grateful感到gǎn dàoto feel; to sense; to perceive摸索mō suoto feel about; to grope about; to fumble; to do things slowly触摸chù mōto touch抚摸fǔ mōto gently caress and stroke; to pet; to fondle碰到pèng dàoto come across; to run into; to meet; to hit
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 "to touch".
感 gǎn — to feel; to move; to touch; to affect
我感到有点儿累。Wǒ gǎn dào yǒu diǎnr lèi.I feel a little tired.
Common words: 感觉 (gǎn jué)、感谢 (gǎn xiè)、感到 (gǎn dào)
摸 mō / mó — feel with the hand; to touch; to stroke; to grope; to feel (one's pulse); imitate
小猫的毛摸起来很柔软。Xiǎo māo de máo mō qǐ lái hěn róu ruǎn.The kitten fur feels very soft.
Common words: 摸索 (mō suo)、触摸 (chù mō)、抚摸 (fǔ mō)
碰 pèng — to touch; to meet with; to bump
走路时不小心碰到了桌角。Zǒu lù shí bù xiǎo xīn pèng dào le zhuō jiǎo.While walking, I accidentally bumped into the corner of the table.
Common words: 碰到 (pèng dào)、碰见 (pèng jiàn)、碰撞 (pèng zhuàng)
All 4 characters
Open 着、感、摸 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.