HSK 4 · Verbs

表示 biǎoshì “to express” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 表示 means

  1. to express
  2. to show
  3. to indicate
  4. (of sb) to express
  5. to state
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • (of sth) to indicate
  • to signify
  • expression
  • manifestation

How to say 表示

  • 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 fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale示shì4th tone, falling

表示 in a sentence

  1. 我对玛丽的帮助表示了感谢。

    Wǒ duì Mǎlì de bāngzhù biǎoshì le gǎnxiè.

    I thanked Mary for her help.

    Sentence #334864 from Tatoeba

  2. 微笑并不一定表示高兴。

    Wēixiào bìngbù yídìng biǎoshì gāoxìng.

    Smiles do not always indicate pleasure.

    Sentence #798241 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  3. 箭头表示行进方向。

    Jiàntóu biǎoshì xíngjìn fāngxiàng.

    The arrow indicates the way to go.

    Sentence #10245928 from Tatoeba

How 表示 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 示 (shì) with each of its parts in a different colour
示shìto show
  • 二two · èr
  • 小small · xiǎo

How to write 表示

表 8 strokes · 示 5 strokes

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

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

Words related to 表示

Words with 表

手表shǒubiǎo · watch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表情biǎoqíng · (facial) expression发表fābiǎo · to issue

Words with 示

出示chūshì · to show显示xiǎnshì · to show暗示ànshì · to hint示意shìyì · to signal提示tíshì · to prompt指示zhǐshì · to instruct展示zhǎnshì · to display示范shìfàn · to demonstrate请示qǐngshì · to ask for instructions示威shìwēi · to hold a demonstration

More words: Thinking & Talking

着急zháojí · to worry注意zhùyì · pay attention to保证bǎozhèng · guarantee抱歉bàoqiàn · to be sorry表扬biǎoyáng · to praise猜cāi · to guess成功chénggōng · success道歉dàoqiàn · to apologise

FAQs

表示 (biǎoshì) means “to express” or “to show”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it biǎoshì: biǎo 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.
Yes. 表示 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type biaoshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 表示 from the suggestions. Typing biaoshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
表示 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.