How to say “free” in Chinese
free, idle; leisure
“Free” in Chinese is 空闲, kòng xián: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
空闲 is read kòng xián: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 穴 “hole”; below, 工 gōng hints at the sound.
Outside, 门 “door”; inside, 木 “wood”: originally a barrier.
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 “空闲”.
More words from the lesson “From dawn to late at night”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “free” in Chinese?
“Free” in Chinese is 空闲, pinyin kòngxián.
What does 空闲 mean?
空闲 (kòngxián) means “free, idle; leisure”.
How do you write 空闲?
空闲 is 2 characters: 空 (kōng) — empty; air; 闲 (xián) — free, idle. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 空闲?
空闲 is read kòngxián. Tones: kòng — fourth tone, xián — second tone. The page has an audio recording.
“free” in the lesson “From dawn to late at night”
This word is from the topic “Time and deadlines” 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.
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