How to say “act” in Chinese
act (a role), perform
“Act” in Chinese is 演, yǎn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
演 is read yǎn. 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 left, 氵 “water”.
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 “演”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 演. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我们班要在晚会上表演节目wǒmenbānyàozàiwǎnhuìshangbiǎoyǎnjiémùOur class will perform an act at the gala.
- 他在电影里演一位医生。tāzàidiànyǐngliyǎnyíwèiyīshēngHe plays a doctor in the film.
- 演出七点开始别迟到yǎnchūqīdiǎnkāishǐ,biéchídàoThe show starts at seven, don't be late.
- 昨天的演出怎么样？zuótiāndeyǎnchūzěnmeyàngHow was yesterday's performance?
- 这个演员演得真好zhègeyǎnyuányǎndezhēnhǎoThis actor acts really well!
- 他是中国著名的京剧演员。tāshìZhōngguózhùmíngdejīngjùyǎnyuánHe's a famous Chinese Peking opera actor.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Actors and TV series”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “act” in Chinese?
“Act” in Chinese is 演, pinyin yǎn.
What does 演 mean?
演 (yǎn) means “act (a role), perform”.
How do you write 演?
演 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 演?
演 is read yǎn. Tones: yǎn — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“act” in the lesson “Actors and TV series”
This word is from the topic “Art and the stage” 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