Meaning of 事情
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- affair; matter; thing; business
Measure word: 件,樁|桩
How to use 事情
事情 is the everyday word for "thing" in the sense of an affair, task, or matter, not a physical object. It often follows 有 (yǒu) or a measure word like 件 (jiàn). Example: 我今天有很多事情要做。(Wǒ jīntiān yǒu hěn duō shìqing yào zuò.) I have a lot of things to do today.
事情 combines 事 (shì), a matter or task, with 情 (qíng), which shows the heart radical 忄 and points to feelings and circumstances. A 事情 is a matter that involves both the task itself and the situation around it.
Common mistake: Learners often use 事情 for physical objects, as in "I bought a thing." For objects use 东西 (dōngxi) instead, and keep 事情 for matters and tasks. Also note that 情 is usually said in the neutral tone here: shìqing, not shìqíng.
事情 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
事 shì · matter · 8 strokes
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情 qíng · feelings · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 事情.
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 故事 | gùshi | old practice |
| 爱情 | àiqíng | romance; love (romantic) |
| 心情 | xīnqíng | mood; frame of mind |
| 好事 | hǎoshì | good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, "a fine thing indeed"); charity |
| 同事 | tóngshì | colleague; co-worker |
| 热情 | rèqíng | cordial; enthusiastic |
| 情况 | qíngkuàng | circumstances; state of affairs; situation |
| 事实 | shìshí | fact |
| 事实上 | shìshíshang | in fact; in reality |
| 事件 | shìjiàn | incident; event |
| 感情 | gǎnqíng | emotion; sentiment; affection; feelings between two persons |
Questions about 事情
What does 事情 mean?
事情 (shìqing) means "affair; matter; thing; business" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 事情?
事情 is made of 2 characters: 事 (8 strokes), 情 (11 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 事情 an HSK word?
Yes. 事情 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 事情 and 事?
They mean the same thing, but 事 (shì) is shorter and very common in fixed phrases like 没事 (méishì) and 有事 (yǒushì). 事情 sounds a little fuller and is common when the word stands alone, as in 这件事情 (zhè jiàn shìqing).
What measure word goes with 事情?
The usual measure word is 件 (jiàn), as in 一件事情 (yí jiàn shìqing), one matter. In casual speech you may also hear 个 (gè).