HSK 5 · Function Words

彼此 bǐcǐ “each other” in Chinese

Said as bícǐ

Same in Traditional

What 彼此 means

  1. each other
  2. one another

How to say 彼此

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale彼bǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale此cǐ3rd tone, dipping

Said as bícǐ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

彼此 in a sentence

  1. 他们彼此不信任。

    Tāmen bǐcǐ bú xìnrèn.

    They don’t trust each other.

    Sentence #13749728 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 真正的友谊建立在彼此信任的基础上。

    Zhēnzhèng de yǒuyì jiànlì zài bǐcǐ xìnrèn de jīchǔ shàng.

    True friendship is based on mutual trust.

    Sentence #2490074 from Tatoeba

  3. 我们彼此认识没有很久。

    Wǒmen bǐcǐ rènshi méiyǒu hěn jiǔ.

    We haven’t known each other long.

    Sentence #874290 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 彼此 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 彼 (bǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
彼bǐthat
  • 彳step · chìMeaning part
  • 皮skin · píSound part

彳 hints at the meaning (step); 皮 (pí) hints at the sound. Compare it with bǐ.

The character 此 (cǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
此cǐthis; these
  • 止stop · zhǐSound part
  • 匕spoon · bǐMeaning part

匕 hints at the meaning (spoon); 止 (zhǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with cǐ.

How to write 彼此

彼 8 strokes · 此 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 彼此

Words with 此

此cǐ · this因此yīncǐ · thus从此cóngcǐ · from now on此外cǐwài · besides岂有此理qǐyǒucǐlǐ · outrageous

More words: Function Words & Grammar

哎āi · hey唉āi · (sigh) oh必然bìrán · inevitable毕竟bìjìng · after all便biàn · then不断búduàn · unceasing总而言之zǒng'éryánzhī · in short足以zúyǐ · enough to

FAQs

彼此 (bǐcǐ) means “each other” or “one another”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it bǐcǐ: bǐ with a 3rd tone, then cǐ with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like bícǐ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 彼此 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type bici with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 彼此 from the suggestions. Typing bici into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
彼此 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.