言 yán — to speak; to say; talk; word
行动比语言更重要。Xíng dòng bǐ yǔ yán gèng zhòng yào.Actions are more important than words.
Common words: 语言 (yǔ yán)、发言 (fā yán)、留言 (liú yán)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "word"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "word", including 言 (yán), 字 (zì), 词 (cí). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "word" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 言 (yán), 字 (zì), 词 (cí) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span yán, zì, cí — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 言 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 言 yánto speak; to say; talk; wordUseful words: 语言, 发言
- 字 zìletter; symbol; character; wordUseful words: 名字, 汉字
- 词 cíworks; phrases; classical Chinese poem; word; dictionUseful words: 词语, 词典
Common words for these 3 "word" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 言 (yán) — so "word" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
语言yǔ yánlanguage发言fā yánto make a speech; statement; utterance留言liú yánto leave a message; to leave one's comments; message名字míng ziname (of a person or thing)汉字hàn zìChinese character(s)数字shù zìnumeral; digit; number; figure词语cí yǔword (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases); term (e.g. technical term); expression词典cí diǎndictionary生词shēng cínew word (in textbook); word that is unfamiliar or not yet studied
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 "word".
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)
词 cí — works; phrases; classical Chinese poem; word; diction
这个词我不认识，要查字典。Zhè ge cí wǒ bú rèn shi, yào chá zì diǎn.I do not know this word; I need to look it up in the dictionary.
Common words: 词语 (cí yǔ)、词典 (cí diǎn)、生词 (shēng cí)
All 3 characters
Open 言、字、词 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.