How to say “persist” in Chinese

坚持

jiānchí

persist, keep at it

verb · HSK 3 · topic “Leisure, sports, culture”

“Persist” in Chinese is 坚持, jiān chí: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

坚持 is read jiān chí: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

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

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

How to write it

坚

jiān — firm, steadfast

Below, 土 “earth”.

持

chí — hold

On the left, 扌 “hand”.

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 “坚持”.

Examples

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

你一定要坚持下去。nǐyídìngyàojiānchíxiàquYou have to keep going, don't give up.
我保证每天坚持锻炼wǒbǎozhèngměitiānjiānchíduànliànI promise to work out every day and stick with it.
不管多忙，他都坚持锻炼。bùguǎnduōmáng,tādōujiānchíduànliànNo matter how busy he is, he keeps working out.
我会坚持下去的wǒhuìjiānchíxiàqudeI won't give up — I'll keep going.
一旦决定了，就要坚持下去。yídànjuédìngle,jiùyàojiānchíxiàquOnce you've decided, see it through.
哪怕每天只学十分钟，也要坚持。nǎpàměitiānzhǐxuéshífēnzhōng,yěyàojiānchíEven if it's just ten minutes a day, you have to keep at it.

More words from the lesson “Work out every day”

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “persist” in Chinese?

“Persist” in Chinese is 坚持, pinyin jiānchí.

What does 坚持 mean?

坚持 (jiānchí) means “persist, keep at it”.

How do you write 坚持?

坚持 is 2 characters: 坚 (jiān) — firm, steadfast; 持 (chí) — hold. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 坚持?

坚持 is read jiānchí. Tones: jiān — first tone, chí — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“persist” in the lesson “Work out every day”

This word is from the topic “Leisure, sports, culture” 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.

Start for free