鼻子
bízi/pi³⁵ d͡z̥ɹ̩³/
The English word 'nose' is translated into Chinese as 鼻子 (bízi). Wiktionary also lists 鼻 (bí).
Meaning: protuberance on the face (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鼻子 | bízi | /pi³⁵ d͡z̥ɹ̩³/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /pi²¹ t͡sɹ̩⁵³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 鼻 | bí | /pi³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /pi²¹/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 鼻仔 | phīⁿ-á | /pʰĩ³³ a⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Singapore, Sinological IPA) /pʰĩ³³ a⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Singapore, Sinological IPA) |
Hokkien |
The term 鼻子 (bízi) is the most widely used and accepted way to refer to the nose in Mandarin Chinese.
What does it mean word for word?
The single character 鼻 (bí) means 'nose'.
Which one should you use?
While 鼻子 is the standard term for the body part in spoken Mandarin, the single syllable 鼻 is more common in formal written Chinese or when forming compound words, such as 鼻血 (nosebleed).
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form 鼻仔 (phīⁿ-á) is used in Hokkien, and the form бизы (bizɨ) is used in the Dungan language.
How does it change in a sentence?
The standard Mandarin form 鼻子 uses the suffix 子 (zi) to turn the single-syllable noun into a disyllabic noun.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is bízi and the IPA is /pi³⁵ dz̥ɹ̩³/.
Did you know?
- The character 自 used to mean 'nose' before it was repurposed to mean 'self'.
- Some scholars believe the character 鼻 is a visual representation of a nose paired with two lungs.
- In Oracle bone script, the phonetic component of the word for 'nose' actually represented an arrow.
Examples in context
- 男孩流鼻血。The boy's nose was bleeding.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use the form 鼻 in the context of a nosebleed.Tatoeba #4455710 by egg0073, translation #10663767 by transfusion
- 她在流鼻血。Her nose is bleeding.Tatoeba #8655346 by slo_oth, translation #950190 by CM
- 您流鼻血了。Your nose is bleeding.Tatoeba #10696098 by GlossaMatik, translation #68973 by CK
- 他的鼻子很高，看起来很好看。(Tā de bí zi hěn gāo, kàn qǐ lái hěn hǎokàn.)His nose is high, and it looks attractive.
- 他把食物塞进了他的鼻孔里。(Tā bǎ shí wù sāi jìn le tā de bí kǒng lǐ.)He stuffed the food into his nostrils.
- 你的鼻子怎么了？(Nǐ de bí zi zěn me le?)What happened to your nose?
- 29 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A girl is pointing at a cute puppy in a park.
- 俊杰 Junjie你看这只小狗的鼻子。Nǐ kàn zhè zhī xiǎogǒu de bízi.Look at this puppy's nose.
- 梓涵 Zihan它的鼻子好湿呀。Tā de bízi hǎo shī ya.Its nose is so wet.
- 俊杰 Junjie它很可爱，对吧？Tā hěn kě'ài, duì ba?It's very cute, right?
- 梓涵 Zihan是的，真的很萌。Shì de, zhēn de hěn méng.Yes, it is really adorable.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nose” translations and entries 鼻子, 鼻, 鼻仔, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 鼻, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
