HSK 5 · Verbs

思想 sīxiǎng “thought” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 思想 means

  1. thought
  2. thinking
  3. idea
  4. ideology

Measure word 个 gè · 一个思想 yí ge sīxiǎng

How to say 思想

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale思sī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale想xiǎng3rd tone, dipping

思想 in a sentence

  1. 语言表达思想。

    Yǔyán biǎodá sīxiǎng.

    Language expresses thought.

    Sentence #801946 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 在拿笔之前，我要集中一下思想。

    Zài ná bǐ zhīqián, wǒ yào jízhōng yíxià sīxiǎng.

    Before I pick up my pen, I need to collect my thoughts.

    Sentence #816419 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 年轻的时候你应该开拓你的思想。

    Niánqīng de shíhou nǐ yīnggāi kāituò nǐ de sīxiǎng.

    You should broaden your mind while you’re young.

    Sentence #334903 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 思想 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 思 (sī) with each of its parts in a different colour
思sīto think
  • 田field · tián
  • 心heart · xīn

Memory aidA head 田 (once a drawing of the skull) above the heart 心: to think.

The character 想 (xiǎng) with each of its parts in a different colour
想xiǎngto think
  • 相mutual · xiāngSound part
  • 心heart · xīnMeaning part

心 hints at the meaning (heart); 相 (xiāng) hints at the sound. Compare it with xiǎng.

Memory aid相 means to look at closely. Add the heart 心 and you picture something in your mind: to think.

How to write 思想

思 9 strokes · 想 13 strokes

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

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

Words related to 思想

Words with 思

意思yìsi · meaning没意思méiyìsi · boring有意思yǒuyìsi · interesting不好意思bùhǎoyìsi · to feel embarrassed思考sīkǎo · to reflect on沉思chénsī · to ponder反思fǎnsī · to reflect on构思gòusī · to conceive (an idea or plot)思索sīsuǒ · to ponder思念sīniàn · to miss

Words with 想

想xiǎng · to want想到xiǎngdào · to think of理想lǐxiǎng · an ideal感想gǎnxiǎng · impressions幻想huànxiǎng · to fantasise想念xiǎngniàn · to miss想象xiǎngxiàng · to imagine梦想mèngxiǎng · dream空想kōngxiǎng · fantasy联想liánxiǎng · to associate (ideas)

More words: Thinking & Talking

实话shíhuà · truth说不定shuōbudìng · can’t say for sure说服shuōfú · to persuade思考sīkǎo · to reflect on谈判tánpàn · to negotiate提问tíwèn · to question体会tǐhuì · to know from experience推辞tuīcí · to decline (an offer or invitation)

FAQs

思想 (sīxiǎng) means “thought” or “thinking”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it sīxiǎng: sī with a 1st tone, then xiǎng with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 思想 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one thought is 一个思想 (yí ge sīxiǎng).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type sixiang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 思想 from the suggestions. Typing sixiang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
思想 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.