HSK 5 · Verbs

表达 biǎodá “to express” in Chinese

Traditional 表達

What 表达 means

  1. to express
  2. to convey

How to say 表达

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale表biǎo3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale达dá2nd tone, rising

表达 in a sentence

  1. 你想表达什么？

    Nǐ xiǎng biǎodá shénme?

    What are you trying to say?

    Sentence #9958205 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 把你的想法表达清楚。

    Bǎ nǐ de xiǎngfǎ biǎodá qīngchu.

    Express your ideas clearly.

    Sentence #826285 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 我不擅长表达自己。

    Wǒ bú shàncháng biǎodá zìjǐ.

    I’m not good at expressing myself.

    Sentence #14021666 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 表达 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 表 (biǎo) with each of its parts in a different colour
表biǎoexterior surface
  • 毛fur · máo
  • 衣clothes · yī

Memory aidFur 毛 on the outside of clothes 衣: the outside, to show.

The character 达 (dá) with each of its parts in a different colour
达dáto attain
  • 大big · dàSound part
  • 辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part

辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 大 (dà) hints at the sound. Compare it with dá.

How to write 表达

表 8 strokes · 达 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 表达

Words with 表

手表shǒubiǎo · watch表示biǎoshì · to express表扬biǎoyáng · to praise表演biǎoyǎn · to perform表格biǎogé · form表明biǎomíng · to make clear表现biǎoxiàn · to show代表dàibiǎo · representative表情biǎoqíng · (facial) expression发表fābiǎo · to issue

Words with 达

达到dádào · to reach到达dàodá · to reach发达fādá · well-developed传达chuándá · to convey转达zhuǎndá · to pass on达成dáchéng · to reach (an agreement)雷达léidá · radar抵达dǐdá · to arrive

More words: Thinking & Talking

报道bàodào · to report (news)保留bǎoliú · to keep抱怨bàoyuàn · to complain辩论biànlùn · debate参考cānkǎo · to consult吵架chǎojià · to quarrel称chēng · to call称呼chēnghu · to call

FAQs

表达 (biǎodá) means “to express” or “to convey”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it biǎodá: biǎo with a 3rd tone, then dá with a 2nd 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, 表达 is written 表達. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type biaoda with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 表达 from the suggestions. Typing biaoda into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
表达 is an HSK 5 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.