常用词
The English phrase "common words" is translated into Mandarin as 常用词.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 常用 (chángyòng), meaning 'commonly used' and 词 (cí), meaning 'word'.
How does it change in a sentence?
Replacing 词 (cí) with 词汇 (cíhuì) shifts the focus from individual words to the concept of vocabulary as a whole.
Did you know?
- In Chinese poetry, the word 词 (cí) refers to a specific type of classical poetic form, rather than just a general 'word'.
- While 'common words' translates to 常用词, the English term 'commonplace' can sometimes be translated as 陈词滥调 (chén cí làn diào), which literally implies 'worn-out, stale words'.
- The character 词 contains the radical for 'speech' on the left, but in ancient Chinese, it specifically referred to the words used by a court official to present a case.
Examples in context
- 你好！很高兴见到你。Hello! It's nice to meet you.
- 嗨！你好吗？Hi! How are you?
- 谢谢您的帮助。Thank you for your help.
- 谢谢你帮我做饭。Thanks for cooking for me.
- 我有三个姐姐和两个弟弟。I have three sisters and two younger brothers.
- 请把常用词写在笔记本上。qǐng bǎ cháng yòng cí xiě zài bǐ jì běn shàng.Please write the common words in the notebook.
- 我正在背常用词。wǒ zhèng zài bèi cháng yòng cí.I am memorizing common words.
Example conversation
Two students are studying together in the library.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，你记住了那些常用词吗？yǔ tíng, nǐ jì zhù le nà xiē cháng yòng cí ma?Yuting, did you memorize those common words?
- 雨婷 Yuting浩然，我还没背完。hào rán, wǒ hái méi bèi wán.Haoran, I haven't finished memorizing them yet.
- 浩然 Haoran没关系，我们可以一起看。méi guān xi, wǒ men kě yǐ yī qǐ kàn.It's okay, we can look at them together.
- 雨婷 Yuting太好了，谢谢你。tài hǎo le, xiè xiè nǐ.That's great, thank you.
