How to say “timid” in Chinese
timid, cowardly
“Timid” in Chinese is 胆小, dǎn xiǎo: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
胆小 is read dǎn xiǎo: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
Two third tones in a row: the first one is said as a second tone, but it is still written as a third.
How to write it
On the left, 月 “flesh, body”; on the right, 旦 dàn hints at the sound. In Chinese, courage lives in the gallbladder: 大胆 — “big gall”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “胆小”.
More words from the lesson “Bold and timid”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “timid” in Chinese?
“Timid” in Chinese is 胆小, pinyin dǎnxiǎo.
What does 胆小 mean?
胆小 (dǎnxiǎo) means “timid, cowardly”.
How do you write 胆小?
胆小 is 2 characters: 胆 (dǎn) — gallbladder; courage; 小 (xiǎo) — small. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 胆小?
胆小 is read dǎnxiǎo. Tones: dǎn — third tone, xiǎo — third tone. The page has an audio recording.
“timid” in the lesson “Bold and timid”
This word is from the topic “Character” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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