HSK 5 · Education

物理 wùlǐ “physics” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 物理 means

  1. physics
  2. physical
  3. relating to the material world

How to say 物理

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale物wù4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale理lǐ3rd tone, dipping

物理 in a sentence

  1. 我这学期几乎没学物理。

    Wǒ zhè xuéqī jīhū méi xué wùlǐ.

    I’ve hardly studied any physics this semester.

    Sentence #2029322 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 物理和化学你更喜欢哪个?

    Wùlǐ hé huàxué nǐ gèng xǐhuan nǎ ge?

    Which do you prefer, physics or chemistry?

    Sentence #380724 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 物理是我最喜欢的科目。

    Wùlǐ shì wǒ zuì xǐhuan de kēmù.

    Physics is my favourite subject.

    Sentence #839463 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 物理 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 物 (wù) with each of its parts in a different colour
物wùthing
  • 牛cow · niúMeaning part
  • 勿must not · wùSound part

牛 hints at the meaning (cow); 勿 (wù) hints at the sound. Compare it with wù.

Memory aidAn ox 牛, which the oldest Chinese dictionary calls the largest of things, with 勿 (wù) for the sound: a thing.

The character 理 (lǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
理lǐtexture
  • 王king · wángMeaning part
  • 里village · lǐSound part

王 hints at the meaning (king); 里 (lǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with lǐ.

Memory aid王 here is jade 玉: cutting jade along its grain. 里 (lǐ) gives the sound: to put in order, reason.

How to write 物理

物 8 strokes · 理 11 strokes

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

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

Words related to 物理

Words with 物

Words with 理

More words: Education & Learning

FAQs

物理 (wùlǐ) means “physics” or “physical”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it wùlǐ: wù with a 4th tone, then lǐ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 物理 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type wuli with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 物理 from the suggestions. Typing wuli into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
物理 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.