HSK 4 · Verbs

解释 jiěshì “explanation” in Chinese

Traditional 解釋

What 解释 means

  1. explanation
  2. to explain
  3. to interpret
  4. to resolve

Measure word 个 gè · 一个解释 yí ge jiěshì

How to say 解释

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale解jiě3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale释shì4th tone, falling

解释 in a sentence

  1. 让我解释。

    Ràng wǒ jiěshì.

    Let me explain.

    Sentence #9453419 from Tatoeba

  2. 我会向你全部解释清楚的。

    Wǒ huì xiàng nǐ quánbù jiěshì qīngchu de.

    I’ll explain everything to you.

    Sentence #8463668 from Tatoeba

  3. 你的解释很好。

    Nǐ de jiěshì hěn hǎo.

    Your explanation is very good.

    Sentence #5685445 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 解释 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 解 (jiě) with each of its parts in a different colour
解jiěto divide
  • 角horn · jiǎo
  • 刀knife · dāo
  • 牛cow · niú

Memory aidA knife 刀 taking the horn 角 off an ox 牛: to take apart, to explain.

The character 释 (shì) drawn as one shape
释shìto explain

释 is a single shape of 12 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

How to write 解释

解 13 strokes · 释 12 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

解释 (jiěshì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 解释 (jiěshì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 解释

Words with 解

解决jiějué · settle a dispute了解liǎojiě · comprehend理解lǐjiě · to comprehend缓解huǎnjiě · to bring relief解剖jiěpōu · to dissect辩解biànjiě · to justify误解wùjiě · to misunderstand解除jiěchú · to remove解散jiěsàn · to dissolve解体jiětǐ · to disintegrate

Words with 释

注释zhùshì · annotation释放shìfàng · to release爱不释手àibúshìshǒu · to love something too much to put it down

More words: Thinking & Talking

回忆huíyì · to recall建议jiànyì · to propose计划jìhuà · plan交流jiāoliú · to exchange拒绝jùjué · to refuse看法kànfǎ · way of looking at a thing考虑kǎolǜ · to think over理解lǐjiě · to comprehend

FAQs

解释 (jiěshì) means “explanation” or “to explain”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it jiěshì: jiě with a 3rd tone, then shì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 解释 is written 解釋. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one explanation is 一个解释 (yí ge jiěshì).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type jieshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 解释 from the suggestions. Typing jieshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
解释 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.