HSK 4 · Education

语言 yǔyán “language” in Chinese

Traditional 語言

What 语言 means

  1. language

Measure word 门 mén or 种 zhǒng · 一门语言 yì mén yǔyán

How to say 语言

  • 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 second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale言yán2nd tone, rising

语言 in a sentence

  1. 我喜欢学习语言。

    Wǒ xǐhuan xuéxí yǔyán.

    I like learning languages.

    Sentence #12957432 from Tatoeba

  2. 我母亲会说五种语言。

    Wǒ mǔqīn huì shuō wǔ zhǒng yǔyán.

    My mother can speak five languages.

    Sentence #1489478 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 在您的国家说什么语言？

    Zài nín de guójiā shuō shénme yǔyán?

    What language is spoken in your country?

    Sentence #3947667 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 语言 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 言 (yán) with each of its parts in a different colour
言yánwords
  • 亠lid · tóu
  • 二two · èr
  • 口mouth · kǒu

How to write 语言

语 9 strokes · 言 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 语言

Words with 语

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

Words with 言

发言fāyán · to make a speech预言yùyán · to predict方言fāngyán · dialect言论yánlùn · speech谣言yáoyán · rumour序言xùyán · preface寓言yùyán · fable不言而喻bùyán'éryù · self-evident总而言之zǒng'éryánzhī · in short

More words: School, Work & Culture

小说xiǎoshuō · novel学期xuéqī · term研究yánjiū · to research语法yǔfǎ · grammar专业zhuānyè · major (at university)大夫dàifu · doctor导游dǎoyóu · tour guide付款fùkuǎn · to pay a sum of money

FAQs

语言 (yǔyán) means “language”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it yǔyán: yǔ with a 3rd tone, then yán 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, 语言 is written 語言. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 门 (mén) or 种 (zhǒng). For example, one language is 一门语言 (yì mén yǔyán).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yuyan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 语言 from the suggestions. Typing yuyan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
语言 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.