Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced bi
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced bi, including 比 bǐ / bì, 必 bì, 笔 bǐ, 避 bì, 毕 bì. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
For bi, start on b and let it run into i without pausing; keep the mouth moving and hold the tone to the end.
Initial b
Start the syllable on the initial b, then run straight into the final i — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final i
After zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, this i is not the clear “ee” in see.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (比 bǐ / bì, 必 bì, 笔 bǐ, 避 bì, 毕 bì) and lock in their tones. 16 common characters share the sound bi, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
bi turns up here with 4 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 逼 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 鼻 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 比, 笔, 彼 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 必, 避, 毕… (11 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing bi inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
16 common characters in this group.