HSK 5 · Emotions

表情 biǎoqíng “(facial) expression” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 表情 means

  1. (facial) expression
  2. to express one’s feelings

How to say 表情

  • 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情qíng2nd tone, rising

表情 in a sentence

  1. 你那是什么表情？

    Nǐ nà shì shénme biǎoqíng?

    What’s that look on your face?

    Sentence #14028418 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我从你的表情猜到你有好消息。

    Wǒ cóng nǐ de biǎoqíng cāidào nǐ yǒu hǎo xiāoxi.

    I can tell from your expression that you have good news.

    Sentence #392237 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他说话时，显然带着高兴的表情。

    Tā shuōhuà shí, xiǎnrán dài zhe gāoxìng de biǎoqíng.

    When he spoke, he clearly looked happy.

    Sentence #1565721 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 表情 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 情 (qíng) with each of its parts in a different colour
情qíngfeelings; emotion; sentiment; passion
  • 忄heart form of 心 · xīnMeaning part
  • 青blue-green · qīngSound part

忄 hints at the meaning (heart); 青 (qīng) hints at the sound. Compare it with qíng.

How to write 表情

表 8 strokes · 情 11 strokes

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

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

Words related to 表情

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表达biǎodá · to express表明biǎomíng · to make clear表现biǎoxiàn · to show代表dàibiǎo · representative发表fābiǎo · to issue

Words with 情

事情shìqing · matter热情rèqíng · cordial爱情àiqíng · romance感情gǎnqíng · emotion同情tóngqíng · to sympathise with心情xīnqíng · mood情况qíngkuàng · circumstances情绪qíngxù · mood情景qíngjǐng · scene激情jīqíng · passion

More words: Emotions & Attitudes

爱心àixīn · compassion安慰ānwèi · to comfort惭愧cánkuì · ashamed操心cāoxīn · to worry about倒霉dǎoméi · to have bad luck发愁fāchóu · to worry自卑zìbēi · to feel inferior自满zìmǎn · complacent

FAQs

表情 (biǎoqíng) means “(facial) expression” or “to express one’s feelings”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it biǎoqíng: biǎo with a 3rd tone, then qíng with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 表情 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type biaoqing with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 表情 from the suggestions. Typing biaoqing into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
表情 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.