HSK 5 · Verbs

询问 xúnwèn “to inquire” in Chinese

Traditional 詢問

What 询问 means

  1. to inquire
  2. to ask about

How to say 询问

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale询xún2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale问wèn4th tone, falling

询问 in a sentence

  1. 请向服务台询问。

    Qǐng xiàng fúwùtái xúnwèn.

    Please ask at the information desk.

    Sentence #850610 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  2. 他找不到洗手间，只好向店员询问方向。

    Tā zhǎo bu dào xǐshǒujiān, zhǐhǎo xiàng diànyuán xúnwèn fāngxiàng.

    He couldn’t find the toilet, so he had to ask a shop assistant for directions.

    Sentence #13610519 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 询问 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 询 (xún) with each of its parts in a different colour
询xúnto ask about
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 旬ten-day period · xúnSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 旬 (xún) hints at the sound. Compare it with xún.

The character 问 (wèn) with each of its parts in a different colour
问wènto ask; to inquire
  • 门gate · ménSound part
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 门 (mén) hints at the sound. Compare it with wèn.

Memory aidA mouth 口 at the gate 门, with 门 (mén) giving the sound: to ask.

How to write 询问

询 8 strokes · 问 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 询问

Words with 询

咨询zīxún · to consult

Words with 问

请问qǐngwèn · Excuse me问wèn · to ask问题wèntí · question提问tíwèn · to question问候wènhòu · to give one’s respects疑问yíwèn · question学问xuéwèn · learning反问fǎnwèn · to ask a rhetorical question过问guòwèn · to concern oneself with慰问wèiwèn · to express sympathy

More words: Thinking & Talking

吸取xīqǔ · to absorb叙述xùshù · to relate (a story or information)宣布xuānbù · to declare宣传xuānchuán · to publicise演讲yǎnjiǎng · speech疑问yíwèn · question议论yìlùn · to comment犹豫yóuyù · to hesitate

FAQs

询问 (xúnwèn) means “to inquire” or “to ask about”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it xúnwèn: xún with a 2nd tone, then wèn 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, 询问 is written 詢問. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xunwen with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 询问 from the suggestions. Typing xunwen into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
询问 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.