HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Everyday Verbs

练 liàn “to practise” in Chinese

Traditional 練

What 练 means

  1. to practise
  2. to train
  3. to drill
  4. to perfect (one’s skill)
  5. exercise

How to say 练

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale练liàn4th tone, falling

练 in a sentence

  1. 她花很多时间练钢琴。

    Tā huā hěn duō shíjiān liàn gāngqín.

    She spends a lot of time practising the piano.

    Sentence #336428 from Tatoeba

  2. 我需要找个地方练舞。

    Wǒ xūyào zhǎo ge dìfang liàn wǔ.

    I need to find somewhere to practise dancing.

    Sentence #5972291 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  3. 是的，你需要每天练习。

    Shì de, nǐ xūyào měitiān liànxí.

    Yes, you need to practise every day.

    Sentence #380887 from Tatoeba

How 练 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 练 (liàn) with each of its parts in a different colour
练liànto practise
  • 纟silk form of 糸 · mìMeaning part
  • 柬card · jiǎnSound part

纟 hints at the meaning (silk); 柬 (jiǎn) hints at the sound. Compare it with liàn.

How to write 练

练 8 strokes

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

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

Words related to 练

Words with 练

练习liànxí · practice教练jiàoliàn · instructor熟练shúliàn · practised训练xùnliàn · to train操练cāoliàn · to drill排练páiliàn · to rehearse

More words: Everyday Verbs

跳tiào · to jump收到shōudào · to receive养yǎng · to raise (animals)爬pá · to climb不见bújiàn · to be missing刷shuā · to brush分开fēnkāi · to separate遇见yùjiàn · to meet (by chance)

FAQs

练 (liàn) means “to practise” or “to train”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it liàn: liàn with a 4th 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, 练 is written 練. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type lian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 练 from the suggestions. Typing lian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
练 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 4 word list. It is not on the older 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.