HSK 6 · Science

正负 zhèngfù “positive and negative” in Chinese

Traditional 正負

What 正负 means

  1. positive and negative
  2. plus or minus

How to say 正负

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale正zhèng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale负fù4th tone, falling

正负 in a sentence

  1. 电池有正负两极。

    Diànchí yǒu zhèng fù liǎng jí.

    A battery has a positive and a negative terminal.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 这次考试的分数可能有正负两分的误差。

    Zhè cì kǎoshì de fēnshù kěnéng yǒu zhèng fù liǎng fēn de wùchā.

    The scores in this exam may be out by plus or minus two points.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 正负 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 正 (zhèng) with each of its parts in a different colour
正zhèngstraight
  • 一one · yī
  • 止stop · zhǐ

Memory aidPicture a foot 止 heading straight for a line 一: straight, correct.

The character 负 (fù) with each of its parts in a different colour
负fùto bear
  • ⺈knife form of 刀 · dāo
  • 贝sea shell · bèi

How to write 正负

正 5 strokes · 负 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 正负

Words with 正

正在zhèngzài · in the process of正常zhèngcháng · regular正确zhèngquè · correct正式zhèngshì · formal真正zhēnzhèng · genuine正好zhènghǎo · just (in time)正zhèng · just (in the middle of doing something)改正gǎizhèng · to correct反正fǎnzhèng · anyway正月zhēngyuè · first month of the lunar year

Words with 负

负责fùzé · to be in charge of胜负shèngfù · victory or defeat辜负gūfù · to let down欺负qīfu · to bully抱负bàofù · aspiration负担fùdān · burden

More words: Science & Technology

程序chéngxù · procedures仪器yíqì · instrument元素yuánsù · element运算yùnsuàn · mathematical operation运行yùnxíng · to run直径zhíjìng · diameter指令zhǐlìng · instruction智能zhìnéng · smart

FAQs

正负 (zhèngfù) means “positive and negative” or “plus or minus”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it zhèngfù: zhèng with a 4th tone, then fù 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, 正负 is written 正負. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhengfu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 正负 from the suggestions. Typing zhengfu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
正负 is an HSK 6 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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.