HSK 5 · Food

点心 diǎnxin “light refreshments” in Chinese

Traditional 點心

What 点心 means

  1. light refreshments
  2. pastry
  3. dim sum (in Cantonese cooking)
  4. dessert

How to say 点心

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale点diǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own心xinneutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

点心 in a sentence

  1. 月饼是中国点心的一种。

    Yuèbǐng shì Zhōngguó diǎnxin de yì zhǒng.

    Mooncakes are a kind of Chinese pastry.

    Sentence #2656482 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 啊，吃点心的时间到了。

    À, chī diǎnxin de shíjiān dào le.

    Ah, it’s snack time.

    Sentence #1670014 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 我想吃蛋糕当点心。

    Wǒ xiǎng chī dàngāo dāng diǎnxin.

    I’d like cake as a snack.

    Sentence #894368 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 点心 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 点 (diǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
点diǎnto touch briefly; to tap
  • 占to divine · zhānSound part
  • 灬fire form of 火 · huǒMeaning part

灬 hints at the meaning (fire); 占 (zhān) hints at the sound. Compare it with diǎn.

Memory aidSimplified from 點, a black 黑 dot. 占 (zhān) gives the sound.

The character 心 (xīn) drawn as one shape
心xīnheartlight in 点心

心 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a heart. On the left of a character it is written 忄.

How to write 点心

点 9 strokes · 心 4 strokes

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

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

Words related to 点心

Words with 点

点diǎn · o’clock一点儿yìdiǎnr · a little有点儿yǒudiǎnr · slightly晚点wǎndiǎn · (of trains地点dìdiǎn · place特点tèdiǎn · characteristic (feature)优点yōudiǎn · strong point缺点quēdiǎn · weak point重点zhòngdiǎn · key point观点guāndiǎn · point of view

Words with 心

担心dānxīn · to worry放心fàngxīn · relax关心guānxīn · concerned about/with小心xiǎoxīn · be careful心里xīnlǐ · in one’s heart心xīn · heart伤心shāngxīn · to grieve粗心cūxīn · careless耐心nàixīn · to be patient开心kāixīn · to feel happy

More words: Food & Dining

冰激凌bīngjīlíng · ice cream叉子chāzi · fork炒chǎo · to sauté醋cù · vinegar豆腐dòufu · tofu锅guō · pot果实guǒshí · fruit (of a plant)海鲜hǎixiān · seafood

FAQs

点心 (diǎnxin) means “light refreshments” or “pastry”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it diǎnxin: diǎn with a 3rd tone, then xin with a neutral 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, 点心 is written 點心. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dianxin with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 点心 from the suggestions. Typing dianxin into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
点心 is an HSK 5 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.