点 meaning in English
to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list)
Meaning of 点
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to touch briefly; to tap
- to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list)
- to order (food etc); to select
- to mention; to bring up (a topic or person)
- to hint at; to imply
- to administer (eye medicine etc) in drops
- to light (a fire, a lamp etc); to ignite
- to nod (one's head) in agreement; to beckon by moving (one's hand) up and down
How to use 点
点 is everywhere in daily Chinese: telling time (三点 sān diǎn, three o'clock), ordering food (点菜 diǎn cài), and saying "a little" with 一点儿 (yīdiǎnr). Example: 我们点菜吧。(Wǒmen diǎn cài ba.) Let's order.
The top part 占 (zhàn) sits on four dots 灬, which is a form of fire 火. Picture someone lighting 点 (diǎn) a fire and watching four small sparks, each one a little dot.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 有点儿 and 一点儿. 有点儿 goes before an adjective to show mild complaint (有点儿贵 yǒudiǎnr guì, a bit expensive), while 一点儿 goes after the adjective or before a noun (便宜一点儿 piányi yìdiǎnr, a bit cheaper).
点 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.
点 diǎn · to touch briefly · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 点.
| 地点 | dìdiǎn | place; site |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 一点点 | yī diǎndiǎn | a little bit |
| 重点 | zhòngdiǎn | to recount (e.g. results of election); to re-evaluate |
| 观点 | guāndiǎn | point of view; viewpoint |
| 有点儿 | yǒudiǎnr | slightly; a little |
| 快点儿 | kuài diǎnr | erhua variant of 快點|快点[kuai4 dian3] |
| 点头 | diǎntóu | to nod |
| 特点 | tèdiǎn | characteristic; trait; feature |
| 有一点儿 | yǒuyīdiǎnr | a bit; a little |
| 缺点 | quēdiǎn | weak point; fault |
| 优点 | yōudiǎn | merit; benefit |
Questions about 点
What does 点 mean?
点 (diǎn) means "to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list)" and is used as a measure word, verb and noun.
How do you write 点?
点 is made of 1 character: 点 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 点 an HSK word?
Yes. 点 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 点 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 点 is written 點.
How do I use 点 to tell the time?
Put a number before 点 for the hour, like 八点 (bā diǎn) for eight o'clock. Add 半 (bàn) for half past, as in 八点半 (bā diǎn bàn). In formal speech you may also hear 点钟 (diǎnzhōng).
Does 点 mean decimal point in numbers?
Yes. Read the dot in a decimal as 点, so 3.5 is 三点五 (sān diǎn wǔ). The digits after 点 are read one by one, so 0.25 is 零点二五 (líng diǎn èr wǔ).