How to say “official” in Chinese

官员

guānyuán

official, functionary

noun · HSK 6 · topic “State and law”

“Official” in Chinese is 官员, guān yuán: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

官员 is read guān yuán: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

guān — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

yuán — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

How to write it

官

guān — official; government-run

On top, 宀 “roof”. Hints at the reading of 馆 guǎn and 管 guǎn.

员

yuán — worker, member

On top, 口 “mouth”; below, 贝 “shell”.

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 “官员”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 官员. Tap the sound icon to listen.

他父亲是一位地方官员。tāfùqīnshìyíwèidìfāngguānyuánHis father is a local official.
他父亲是一位地方2官员tāfùqīnshìyíwèidìfāngguānyuánHis father is a local official.

More words from the lesson “Officials and power”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “official” in Chinese?

“Official” in Chinese is 官员, pinyin guānyuán.

What does 官员 mean?

官员 (guānyuán) means “official, functionary”.

How do you write 官员?

官员 is 2 characters: 官 (guān) — official; government-run; 员 (yuán) — worker, member. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 官员?

官员 is read guānyuán. Tones: guān — first tone, yuán — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“official” in the lesson “Officials and power”

This word is from the topic “State and law” of HSK 6. 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.

Start for free