说 话 shuō huà to speak / to say / to talk / to gossip / to tell stories / talk / word 词 汇 cí huì vocabulary / list of words (e.g. for language teaching purposes) / word 词 语 cí yǔ word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases) / term (e.g. technical term) / expression 字 zì letter / symbol / character / word / CL:個|个[ge4] / courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China 单 词 dān cí word / CL:個|个[ge4] 单 字 dān zì single Chinese character / word (in a foreign language) 语 词 yǔ cí word / phrase / (old) (grammar) function word / predicate 联 想 lián xiǎng to associate (cognitively) / to make an associative connection / mental association / word prediction and auto-complete functions of input method editing programs 一 句 话 yī jù huà in a word / in short 总 之 zǒng zhī in a word / in short / in brief 字 数 zì shù number of written characters / number of words / word count 打 招 呼 dǎ zhāo hu to greet sb by word or action / to give prior notice 口 令 kǒu lìng oral command / a word of command (used in drilling troops or gymnasts) / password (used by sentry) 台 词 tái cí an actor's lines / dialogue / Taiwanese word 忠 告 zhōng gào to give sb a word of advice / advice / counsel / a wise word 会 社 huì shè a guild / (in olden times) an association such as a political party, religious group or trade guild / the Japanese word for company 不 动 声 色 bù dòng shēng sè not a word or movement (idiom) / remaining calm and collected / not batting an eyelid 一 言 不 发 yī yán bù fā to not say a word (idiom) 好 话 hǎo huà friendly advice / words spoken on sb's behalf / a good word / kind words / words that sound fine but are not followed up with actions 总 而 言 之 zǒng ér yán zhī in short / in a word / in brief 收 音 shōu yīn to receive a radio signal / to make an audio recording / (of an auditorium etc) to have good acoustics / (vocal training, linguistics) ending (of a word or syllable) 文 字 处 理 wén zì chǔ lǐ word processing 叫 板 jiào bǎn to signal the musicians (in Chinese opera, by prolonging a spoken word before attacking a song) / (coll.) to challenge 过 火 guò huǒ to go too far (in word or deed) / over the top 守 信 用 shǒu xìn yòng to keep one's word / trustworthy 吭 声 kēng shēng to utter a word 引 申 yǐn shēn to extend (the meaning of a word, an analogy etc) / derivation 算 数 suàn shù to count numbers / to keep to one's word / to hold (i.e. to remain valid) / to count (i.e. to be important) 词 库 cí kù word stock / lexicon 活 用 huó yòng to apply (knowledge etc) creatively and flexibly / to use a word flexibly (e.g. a noun as an adjective) 感 化 gǎn huà corrective influence / to reform (a criminal) / redemption (of a sinner) / to influence (a malefactor to a better life) / to guide sb back to the right path by repeated word and example 一 窍 不 通 yī qiào bù tōng lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head) / I don't understand a word (idiom) / it's all Greek to me 送 信 sòng xìn to send word / to deliver a letter 词 义 cí yì meaning of a word 字 头 zì tóu first letter of a word or serial number / first character of a Chinese word / first digit of a number / the top part (esp. a radical) of a Chinese character / the initial of a Chinese syllable 音 译 yīn yì transliteration (rendering phonetic value, e.g. of English words in Chinese characters) / characters giving phonetic value of Chinese word or name (when the correct characters may be unknown) / transcription (linguistics) / to transcribe phonetic symbols 吱 声 zhī shēng to utter a word / to make a sound / to cheep / to squeak / also pr. [zi1 sheng1] 下 xià down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action 避 讳 bì hui to avoid a taboo word or topic / to refrain from / to avoid 避 讳 bì huì to avoid a taboo word or topic 生 词 shēng cí new word (in textbook) / word that is unfamiliar or not yet studied / CL:組|组[zu3],個|个[ge4] 食 言 shí yán lit. to eat one's words / to break a promise / to go back on one's word / to renege / unsworn testimony 一 言 一 行 yī yán yī xíng every word and action (idiom) 点 破 diǎn pò to lay bare in a few words / to expose with a word / to point out bluntly 三 字 经 sān zì jīng (slang) swearword / four-letter word 搭 话 dā huà to talk / to get into conversation with / to send word 转 口 zhuǎn kǒu entrepot / transit (of goods) / (coll.) to deny / to go back on one's word 福 晋 fú jìn in Qing dynasty, Manchurian word for wife 不 做 声 bù zuò shēng keep silent / not say a word 变 卦 biàn guà to change one's mind / to go back on one's word 进 言 jìn yán to put forward a suggestion (to sb in a senior position) / to offer a word of advice 简 写 jiǎn xiě to write characters in simplified form / the simplified form of a character / to abbreviate (a word or expression) / to write in simple language 传 扬 chuán yáng to spread (by word of mouth) 言 听 计 从 yán tīng jì cóng to see, hear and obey (idiom) / to take advice / to take sb at his word 分 词 fēn cí participle / word segmentation 字 根 zì gēn character root / word root / etymon 守 口 如 瓶 shǒu kǒu rú píng lit. to guard one's mouth like a closed bottle (idiom) / tight-lipped / reticent / not breathing a word 出 尔 反 尔 chū ěr fǎn ěr old: to reap the consequences of one's words (idiom, from Mencius) / modern: to go back on one's word / to blow hot and cold / to contradict oneself / inconsistent 一 语 道 破 yī yǔ dào pò one word says it all (idiom) / to hit the nail on the head / to be pithy and correct 暗 语 àn yǔ code word 照 抄 zhào chāo to copy word for word 倒 装 dào zhuāng inversion (rhetoric device of inverting the word order for heightened effect) / anastrophe 组 词 zǔ cí to combine words / word formation 暗 合 àn hé to agree implicitly / of one mind / views coincide without a word exchanged 讳 莫 如 深 huì mò rú shēn important matter that must be kept secret (idiom) / don't breathe a word of it to anyone! 成 语 接 龙 chéng yǔ jiē lóng game where the last word of one idiom 成語|成语[cheng2 yu3] is the first of the next 虚 词 xū cí (linguistics) function word 言 而 无 信 yán ér wú xìn to go back on one's word / to break one's promise / to be unfaithful / to be untrustworthy 口 诛 笔 伐 kǒu zhū bǐ fá to condemn in speech and in writing (idiom) / to denounce by word and pen 头 文 字 tóu wén zì initial / first letter of word (in Latin script) 说 一 不 二 shuō yī bù èr to say one and mean just that (idiom) / to keep one's word 一 言 以 蔽 之 yī yán yǐ bì zhī one word says it all (idiom, from Analects) / to cut a long story short / in a nutshell 暹 罗 Xiān luó Siam (old word for Thailand) / Siamese 词 意 cí yì meaning of word / sense 量 liàng capacity / quantity / amount / to estimate / abbr. for 量詞|量词[liang4 ci2], classifier (in Chinese grammar) / measure word 铁 幕 tiě mù Iron Curtain (1945-1991) (In Taiwan, the word was used to refer to both the Iron Curtain and the Bamboo Curtain.) 词 法 cí fǎ morphology (linguistics) / word formation and inflection 实 词 shí cí (linguistics) content word 缩 略 语 suō lu:è yǔ abbreviated word / acronym 构 词 gòu cí composite word 守 约 shǒu yuē to keep an appointment / to keep one's word 词 类 cí lèi (linguistics) part of speech / word class / lexical category 语 序 yǔ xù word order 量 词 liàng cí classifier (in Chinese grammar) / measure word 格 致 gé zhì to study the underlying principle to acquire knowledge (abbr. for 格物致知[ge2 wu4 zhi4 zhi1]) / word for Western natural sciences during late Qing 格 物 gé wù to study the underlying principles, esp. in neo-Confucian rational learning 理學|理学[li3 xue2] / word for Western natural sciences during late Qing 呢 ne particle indicating that a previously asked question is to be applied to the preceding word ("What about ...?", "And ...?") / particle for inquiring about location ("Where is ...?") / particle signaling a pause, to emphasize the preceding words and allow the listener time to take them on board ("ok?", "are you with me?") / (at the end of a declarative sentence) particle indicating continuation of a state or action / particle indicating strong affirmation 字 斟 句 酌 zì zhēn jù zhuó weighing every word 韵 脚 yùn jiǎo rhyming word ending a line of verse / rhyme 连 写 lián xiě to write without lifting one's pen from the paper / (in the Romanization of Chinese) to write two or more syllables together as a single word (not separated by spaces) 扣 帽 子 kòu mào zi to tag sb with unfair label / power word 查 chá to research / to check / to investigate / to examine / to refer to / to look up (e.g. a word in a dictionary) 词 源 cí yuán etymology / origin of a word 词 缀 cí zhuì prefix or suffix of a compound word / affix (linguistics) 捎 信 shāo xìn to take a letter / to send word 答 dā bound form having the same meaning as the free word 答[da2], used in 答應|答应[da1 ying5], 答理[da1 li5] etc 词 序 cí xù word order 哪 na (emphatic sentence-final particle, used instead of 啊[a5] after a word ending in "n") 耳 垢 ěr gòu ear dirt / common word for earwax 耵聹|耵聍 读 dú to read / to study / reading of word (i.e. pronunciation), similar to 拼音[pin1 yin1]