HSK 2 · Common Verbs

给 gěi “to give” in Chinese

Traditional 給

What 给 means

  1. to give
  2. to
  3. for
  4. for the benefit of
  5. to allow
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to do sth (for sb)

How to say 给

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale给gěi3rd tone, dipping

给 in a sentence

  1. 服务员，请给我们菜单。

    Fúwùyuán, qǐng gěi wǒmen càidān.

    Waiter, could we have the menu, please?

    Sentence #11837290 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我把书给了我的朋友。

    Wǒ bǎ shū gěi le wǒ de péngyou.

    I gave the book to my friend.

    Sentence #9981225 from Tatoeba

  3. 给 can also mean “to” or “for”

    我到家给你打电话。

    Wǒ dào jiā gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.

    I’ll call you when I get home.

    Sentence #8501492 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 给 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 给 (gěi) with each of its parts in a different colour
给gěito
  • 纟silk form of 糸 · mìMeaning part
  • 合to combine · gěSound part

纟 hints at the meaning (silk); 合 (gě) hints at the sound. Compare it with gěi.

How to write 给

给 9 strokes

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

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

Words related to 给

Words with 给

给予jǐyǔ · to give供给gōngjǐ · to supply

More words: Common Verbs

等děng · to wait玩wán · to play进jìn · to enter出chū · to go out让ràng · to let笑xiào · to laugh跳舞tiàowǔ · to dance唱歌chànggē · to sing

FAQs

给 (gěi) means “to give” or “to”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it gěi: gěi 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, 给 is written 給. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type gei with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 给 from the suggestions. Typing gei into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
给 is an HSK 2 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.