发电 meaning in English

fādiàn

to generate electricity; to send a telegram

HSK 6Traditional 發電10 strokes

Meaning of 发电

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

fādiàn

to generate electricity
to send a telegram

How to use 发电

Today 发电 is mostly used for producing electricity, often in compounds like 发电厂 (fādiànchǎng, power plant) or 风力发电 (fēnglì fādiàn, wind power). The telegram sense appears mainly in older or formal texts. Example: 这个工厂用太阳能发电。(Zhège gōngchǎng yòng tàiyángnéng fādiàn.) This factory generates electricity with solar energy.

发 (fā) means to send out or produce, and 电 (diàn) means electricity. Put them together and you get "to send out electricity," which is to generate power, or in older usage, to send a message by wire.

Common mistake: Learners often say 生电 or 做电 for "make electricity," but the natural verb is 发电. Also keep the tones clear: 发 is first tone (fā) and 电 is fourth tone (diàn).

发电 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè里lǐ正zhèng在zài筹chóu划huà建jiàn设shè一yī座zuò发fā电diàn站zhàn。

Plans are being drawn up to build a power station here.

纽niǔ约yuē帝dì国guó大dà厦shà现xiàn在zài完wán全quán依yī靠kào风fēng力lì发fā电diàn。

New York's Empire State Building is now running entirely on wind power.

当dāng我wǒ们men发fā电diàn报bào的de时shí候hòu，简jiǎn明míng扼è要yào是shì关guān键jiàn，因yīn为wèi是shì以yǐ字zì计jì费fèi的de。

When you send a telegram, brevity is essential because you will be charged for every word.

由yóu于yú特tè大dà海hǎi啸xiào的de灾zāi害hài，核hé能néng融róng炉lú遭zāo受shòu损sǔn害hài，造zào成chéng了le原yuán子zǐ能néng发fā电diàn站zhàn爆bào炸zhà。

Due to the catastrophe caused by the huge tsunami, damage was sustained by the nuclear reactor as well as explosions at the nuclear power plant.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

发 fā · to send out · 5 strokes

电 diàn · lightning · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 发电.

电话	diànhuà	telephone; phone call
打电话	dǎ diànhuà	to make a telephone call
电影	diànyǐng	movie; film
电视	diànshì	television; TV
电脑	diànnǎo	computer
电影院	diànyǐngyuàn	cinema; movie theater
电视机	diànshìjī	television set
发现	fāxiàn	to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect
出发	chūfā	to set off; to start (on a journey); (fig.) to proceed from (a particular standpoint or ba
头发	tóufa	hair (on the head)
发生	fāshēng	to happen; to occur; to take place; to arise (e.g. 發生問題\|发生问题[fa1 sheng1 wen4 ti2] "a probl
发展	fāzhǎn	development; growth

Questions about 发电

What does 发电 mean?

发电 (fādiàn) means "to generate electricity; to send a telegram".

How do you write 发电?

发电 is made of 2 characters: 发 (5 strokes), 电 (5 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 发电 an HSK word?

Yes. 发电 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 发电 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 发电 is written 發電.

How do you say "power station" in Chinese?

Use 发电站 (fādiànzhàn) or 发电厂 (fādiànchǎng). Specific types include 核电站 (hédiànzhàn, nuclear power station) and 水电站 (shuǐdiànzhàn, hydropower station).

Can 发电 still mean to send a telegram today?

Yes, but this sense is rare now because telegrams are rarely used. You may see it in historical writing or in set phrases like 发电报 (fā diànbào, to send a telegram), which is the clearer way to say it.