How to say “circle” in Chinese
circle, ring; circle (verb)
“Circle” in Chinese is 圈, quān: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
圈 is read quān. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Outside, 囗 “enclosure”; inside, 卷 juàn hints at the reading.
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 “圈”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 圈. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我每天跑五圈wǒměitiānpǎowǔquānI run five laps every day.
- 我在操场跑了三圈wǒzàicāochǎngpǎolesānquānI ran three laps around the track.
- 月球围绕地球转，转一圈大约需要一个月。yuèqiúwéiràodìqiúzhuàn,zhuànyìquāndàyuēxūyàoyígeyuèThe Moon revolves around the Earth; one orbit takes about a month.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Rounds, laps and a whole series”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “circle” in Chinese?
“Circle” in Chinese is 圈, pinyin quān.
What does 圈 mean?
圈 (quān) means “circle, ring; circle (verb)”.
How do you write 圈?
圈 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 圈?
圈 is read quān. Tones: quān — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“circle” in the lesson “Rounds, laps and a whole series”
This word is from the topic “Amounts and degrees” 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