HSK 6 · Media

对联 duìlián “couplet (on scrolls beside a door)” in Chinese

Traditional 對聯

What 对联 means

  1. couplet (on scrolls beside a door)
  2. rhyming couplet
  3. pair of lines of verse written vertically down the sides of a doorway

Measure word 副 fù or 幅 fú · 一副对联 yí fù duìlián

How to say 对联

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale对duì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale联lián2nd tone, rising

对联 in a sentence

  1. 过春节的时候，家家户户都贴对联。

    Guò Chūnjié de shíhou, jiājiāhùhù dōu tiē duìlián.

    At Spring Festival, every household puts up couplets.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 爷爷会写对联。

    Yéye huì xiě duìlián.

    Grandpa can write couplets.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 对联 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 对 (duì) with each of its parts in a different colour
对duìright; correct
  • 又again · yòu
  • 寸inch · cùn

Memory aidPicture two hands, 又 and 寸, facing each other as a matching pair: opposite, correct.

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.

How to write 对联

对 5 strokes · 联 12 strokes

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

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

Words related to 对联

Words with 对

对不起duìbuqǐ · sorry对duì · correct对话duìhuà · dialogue反对fǎnduì · to oppose对面duìmiàn · (sitting) opposite对于duìyú · regarding对方duìfāng · the other person对象duìxiàng · target对手duìshǒu · opponent对比duìbǐ · to contrast

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联想liánxiǎng · to associate (ideas)联盟liánméng · alliance

More words: Media & Arts

传单chuándān · leaflet创作chuàngzuò · to create雕刻diāokè · to carve雕塑diāosù · sculpture发布fābù · to release发行fāxíng · to issue稿件gǎojiàn · manuscript公告gōnggào · announcement

FAQs

对联 (duìlián) means “couplet (on scrolls beside a door)” or “rhyming couplet”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it duìlián: duì with a 4th tone, then lián with a 2nd 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, 对联 is written 對聯. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 副 (fù) or 幅 (fú). For example, one couplet (on scrolls beside a door) is 一副对联 (yí fù duìlián).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type duilian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 对联 from the suggestions. Typing duilian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
对联 is an HSK 6 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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.