HSK 4 · Education

语法 yǔfǎ “grammar” in Chinese

Said as yúfǎ

Traditional 語法

What 语法 means

  1. grammar
  2. (computing) syntax

How to say 语法

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale语yǔ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale法fǎ3rd tone, dipping

Said as yúfǎ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

语法 in a sentence

  1. 这是谁的语法书？

    Zhè shì shéi de yǔfǎ shū?

    Whose grammar book is this?

    Sentence #333611 from Tatoeba

  2. 这个句子在语法上是正确的。

    Zhè ge jùzi zài yǔfǎ shàng shì zhèngquè de.

    This sentence is grammatically correct.

    Sentence #4262249 from Tatoeba

  3. 语法非常复杂。

    Yǔfǎ fēicháng fùzá.

    Grammar is very complicated.

    Sentence #10952154 from Tatoeba

How 语法 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 语 (yǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
语yǔdialect
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 吾I · wúSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 吾 (wú) hints at the sound. Compare it with yǔ.

Memory aidWords 讠 that I 吾 say: language. 吾 (wú) also gives the sound.

The character 法 (fǎ) with each of its parts in a different colour
法fǎlaw
  • 氵water form of 水 · shuǐ
  • 去to go away · qù

Memory aidTraditionally explained as water 氵, which always lies level and so is fair, with 去 (qù) “to remove”, driving the guilty away: law, method.

How to write 语法

语 9 strokes · 法 8 strokes

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

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

Words related to 语法

Words with 语

汉语Hànyǔ · Mandarin (Han language)外语wàiyǔ · foreign language词语cíyǔ · words and expressions语言yǔyán · language成语chéngyǔ · idiom语气yǔqì · tone母语mǔyǔ · mother tongue谜语míyǔ · riddle

Words with 法

办法bànfǎ · method法fǎ · law看法kànfǎ · way of looking at a thing法律fǎlǜ · law方法fāngfǎ · method无法wúfǎ · to be unable to合法héfǎ · lawful法院fǎyuàn · court of law法人fǎrén · legal entity非法fēifǎ · illegal

More words: School, Work & Culture

硕士shuòshì · master’s degree小说xiǎoshuō · novel学期xuéqī · term研究yánjiū · to research语言yǔyán · language专业zhuānyè · major (at university)大夫dàifu · doctor导游dǎoyóu · tour guide

FAQs

语法 (yǔfǎ) means “grammar” or “(computing) syntax”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it yǔfǎ: yǔ with a 3rd tone, then fǎ with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like yúfǎ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. 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, 语法 is written 語法. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yufa with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 语法 from the suggestions. Typing yufa into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
语法 is an HSK 4 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.