How to say “play” in Chinese
play, show
“Play” in Chinese is 戏, xì: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
戏 is read xì. 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 the right, 戈, an ancient weapon.
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 “戏”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 戏. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我弟弟每天玩游戏wǒdìdiměitiānwányóuxìMy little brother plays games every day.
- 其实我不太喜欢玩游戏qíshíwǒbútàixǐhuanwányóuxìActually, I don't really like playing games.
- 我可以玩一会儿游戏吗？wǒkěyǐwányíhuìryóuxìmaCan I play for a bit?
- 他经常熬夜玩游戏tājīngchángáoyèwányóuxìHe often stays up late playing games.
- 今天晚上我们去看戏吧。jīntiānwǎnshangwǒmenqùkànxìbaLet's go see a show tonight.
- 我对戏剧很感兴趣wǒduìxìjùhěngǎnxìngqùI'm very interested in theater.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “At the theater”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “play” in Chinese?
“Play” in Chinese is 戏, pinyin xì.
What does 戏 mean?
戏 (xì) means “play, show”.
How do you write 戏?
戏 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 戏?
戏 is read xì. Tones: xì — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“play” in the lesson “At the theater”
This word is from the topic “Art” of HSK 5. 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