HSK 3 · Adjectives

特别 tèbié “special” in Chinese

Traditional 特別

What 特别 means

  1. special
  2. especially
  3. particular
  4. unusual
  5. very
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • particularly
  • expressly
  • for a specific purpose
  • (often followed by 是) in particular

How to say 特别

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale特tè4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale别bié2nd tone, rising

特别 in a sentence

  1. 今晚特别冷。

    Jīnwǎn tèbié lěng.

    It’s especially cold tonight.

    Sentence #1231670 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 没发生什么特别的事。

    Méi fāshēng shénme tèbié de shì.

    Nothing special happened.

    Sentence #10449471 from Tatoeba

  3. 他特别爱讲笑话。

    Tā tèbié ài jiǎng xiàohua.

    He really loves telling jokes.

    Sentence #1790034 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 特别 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 特 (tè) with each of its parts in a different colour
特tèspecial
  • 牛cow · niúMeaning part
  • 寺court · sìSound part

牛 hints at the meaning (cow); 寺 (sì) hints at the sound. Compare it with tè.

The character 别 (bié) with each of its parts in a different colour
别biéto leave; to part
  • 另another · lìng
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāo

Memory aidA knife 刂 cutting things apart: to separate. As a command, 别 means “don't”.

How to write 特别

特 10 strokes · 别 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 特别

Words with 特

特点tèdiǎn · characteristic (feature)独特dútè · unique特殊tèshū · special模特mótè · (fashion) model特色tèsè · distinctive feature特征tèzhēng · characteristic特定tèdìng · specific特长tècháng · strength特意tèyì · specially

Words with 别

别bié · don’t别人biéren · other people别的biéde · other区别qūbié · difference性别xìngbié · gender分别fēnbié · to part告别gàobié · to say goodbye个别gèbié · individual别墅biéshù · villa鉴别jiànbié · to distinguish

More words: Adjectives

清楚qīngchu · clear热情rèqíng · cordial容易róngyì · easy瘦shòu · thin新鲜xīnxiān · fresh experience有名yǒumíng · famous越yuè · even more长zhǎng · to grow

In the Chinese zodiac

牛niú · Year of the Ox

特 has 牛 (ox) on the left.

FAQs

特别 (tèbié) means “special” or “especially”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it tèbié: tè with a 4th tone, then bié 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, 特别 is written 特別. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type tebie with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 特别 from the suggestions. Typing tebie into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
特别 is an HSK 3 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.