TraceHanzi

思考 meaning in English

sīkǎo

to reflect on; to ponder over

HSK 4verb15 strokes

Meaning of 思考

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

sīkǎo
  1. to reflect on
  2. to ponder over

How to use 思考

思考 means deep, careful thinking about a problem or question. It sounds more serious than 想 (xiǎng) and often appears in school, work, and written Chinese. Example: 我需要时间思考这个问题。(Wǒ xūyào shíjiān sīkǎo zhège wèntí.) I need time to think about this question.

思 (sī) has 田 (a field) over 心 (heart), so picture your heart and mind working a field of ideas. 考 (kǎo) is the same character as in 考试 (kǎoshì), so 思考 is thinking something through as carefully as you would on an exam.

Common mistake: Learners often use 思考 for everyday thinking, like 我思考他今天不来. That sounds odd. Use 想 (xiǎng) or 觉得 (juéde) for simple opinions and guesses, and keep 思考 for real reflection.

思考 in example sentences

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

你nǐ在zài说shuō话huà前qián应yīng该gāi先xiān思sī考kǎo。
You should think before you speak.
我wǒ思sī考kǎo著zhù那nà件jiàn事shì离lí开kāi了le。
Thinking about that, I left.
请qǐng思sī考kǎo一yī下xià明míng天tiān。
Think about tomorrow.
别bié指zhǐ望wàng别bié人rén替tì你nǐ思sī考kǎo。
Don't expect others to think for you!
他tā对duì自zì己jǐ的de思sī维wéi方fāng式shì进jìn行xíng着zhe很hěn多duō思sī考kǎo。
He puts a lot of thought into how he thinks.

Stroke order for each character

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

思 sī · to think · 9 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

考 kǎo · to check · 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

Related words

Words that share a character with 思考.

考试kǎoshìto take an exam; exam
意思yìsiidea; opinion
不好意思bù hǎoyìsito feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing
有意思yǒu yìsiinteresting; meaningful
考生kǎoshēngexam candidate; student whose name has been put forward for an exam
思想sīxiǎngthought; thinking
考验kǎoyànto test; to put to the test
考虑kǎolǜto think over; to consider
参考cānkǎoconsultation; reference
考察kǎocháto inspect; to observe and study
思维sīwéi(line of) thought; thinking
考核kǎohéto examine; to check up on

Questions about 思考

What does 思考 mean?

思考 (sīkǎo) means "to reflect on; to ponder over" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 思考?

思考 is made of 2 characters: 思 (9 strokes), 考 (6 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.

Is 思考 an HSK word?

Yes. 思考 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 思考 and 思想?

思考 (sīkǎo) is a verb meaning to think something over. 思想 (sīxiǎng) is usually a noun meaning thought or ideology, as in 他的思想很新 (his thinking is very modern).

Can 思考 be used as a noun?

Yes. It can mean thinking or reflection, as in 独立思考 (dúlì sīkǎo), independent thinking, or 这需要思考 (this needs some thought).

摆Previous in HSK 4bǎi