How to say “do” in Chinese
do (colloq.)
“Do” in Chinese is 干, gàn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
干 is read gàn. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Two readings: gān in 干净 and gàn, “do”.
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 “干”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 干. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你在干什么？nǐzàigànshénmeWhat are you doing?
- 他把房间打扫干净了tābǎfángjiāndǎsǎogānjìngleHe cleaned the room until it was spotless.
- 喂，你在干什么？wéi,nǐzàigànshénmeHello? What are you doing?
- 我把房间打扫干净了wǒbǎfángjiāndǎsǎogānjìngleI cleaned the room until it was spotless.
- 这包饼干有两百克。zhèbāobǐnggānyǒuliǎngbǎikèThis pack of cookies weighs two hundred grams.
- 请给我两百克饼干qǐnggěiwǒliǎngbǎikèbǐnggānPlease give me two hundred grams of cookies.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Turn off the light”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “do” in Chinese?
“Do” in Chinese is 干, pinyin gàn.
What does 干 mean?
干 (gàn) means “do (colloq.)”.
How do you write 干?
干 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 干?
干 is read gàn. Tones: gàn — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“do” in the lesson “Turn off the light”
This word is from the topic “Home and daily life” of HSK 3. 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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