HSK 6 · Verbs

联想 liánxiǎng “to associate (ideas)” in Chinese

Traditional 聯想

What 联想 means

  1. to associate (ideas)
  2. association
  3. to associate (cognitively)
  4. to make an associative connection
  5. mental association
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • word prediction and auto-complete functions of input method editing programs

How to say 联想

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale联lián2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale想xiǎng3rd tone, dipping

联想 in a sentence

  1. 这首歌会让我联想到他的名字。

    Zhè shǒu gē huì ràng wǒ liánxiǎng dào tā de míngzi.

    This song makes me think of his name.

    Sentence #10629949 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 难怪我们会把蝙蝠和黑暗的地方联想在一起了。

    Nánguài wǒmen huì bǎ biānfú hé hēi'àn de dìfang liánxiǎng zài yìqǐ le.

    No wonder we associate bats with dark places.

    Sentence #692060 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 联想 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 联 (lián) with each of its parts in a different colour
联liánto ally oneself with; to unite
  • 耳ear · ěrMeaning part
  • 关frontier pass · guānSound part

耳 hints at the meaning (ear); 关 (guān) hints at the sound. Compare it with lián.

The character 想 (xiǎng) with each of its parts in a different colour
想xiǎngto think
  • 相mutual · xiāngSound part
  • 心heart · xīnMeaning part

心 hints at the meaning (heart); 相 (xiāng) hints at the sound. Compare it with xiǎng.

Memory aid相 means to look at closely. Add the heart 心 and you picture something in your mind: to think.

How to write 联想

联 12 strokes · 想 13 strokes

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

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

Words related to 联想

Words with 联

联系liánxì · to contact互联网hùliánwǎng · the internet联合liánhé · to combine联欢liánhuān · to have a get-together联络liánluò · to contact联盟liánméng · alliance对联duìlián · couplet (on scrolls beside a door)

Words with 想

想xiǎng · to want想到xiǎngdào · to think of理想lǐxiǎng · an ideal感想gǎnxiǎng · impressions幻想huànxiǎng · to fantasise思想sīxiǎng · thought想念xiǎngniàn · to miss想象xiǎngxiàng · to imagine梦想mèngxiǎng · dream空想kōngxiǎng · fantasy

More words: Thinking & Talking

口头kǒutóu · oral口音kǒuyīn · accent唠叨láodao · to nag联络liánluò · to contact理睬lǐcǎi · to pay attention to列举lièjǔ · to list领会lǐnghuì · to understand领悟lǐngwù · to comprehend

FAQs

联想 (liánxiǎng) means “to associate (ideas)” or “association”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it liánxiǎng: lián with a 2nd tone, then xiǎng with a 3rd 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, 联想 is written 聯想. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type lianxiang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 联想 from the suggestions. Typing lianxiang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
联想 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

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.