How to say “be” in Chinese
be (lit.)
“Be” in Chinese is 为, wéi: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
为 is read wéi. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Its second reading is wéi, “be, 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 “为”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 为. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 因为下雨，所以我没去。yīnwèixiàyǔ,suǒyǐwǒméiqùIt was raining, so I didn't go.
- 你为什么没来nǐwèishénmeméiláiWhy didn't you come?
- 你为什么学汉语？nǐwèishénmexuéHànyǔWhy are you learning Chinese?
- 你昨天为什么没来上课？nǐzuótiānwèishénmeméiláishàngkèWhy didn't you come to class yesterday?
- 因为我生病了yīnwèiwǒshēngbìngleBecause I got sick.
- 你为什么没来上课？nǐwèishénmeméiláishàngkèWhy didn't you come to class?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “The language of newspapers and documents”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “be” in Chinese?
“Be” in Chinese is 为, pinyin wéi.
What does 为 mean?
为 (wéi) means “be (lit.)”.
How do you write 为?
为 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 为?
为 is read wéi. Tones: wéi — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“be” in the lesson “The language of newspapers and documents”
This word is from the topic “Society and country” of HSK 4. 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