Meaning of 片
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- thin piece
- flake
- a slice
- film
- TV play
- to slice
- to carve thin
- partial
- disk
- sheet
How to use 片
As a measure word, 片 counts flat, thin things like slices of bread, leaves, or tablets, and also wide stretches such as land or sky. It also appears in many nouns for flat things, like 照片 (zhàopiàn) photo and 名片 (míngpiàn) business card. Example: 我吃了两片面包。(Wǒ chī le liǎng piàn miànbāo.) I ate two slices of bread.
Picture 片 (piàn) as half of a split log, cut down the middle so you see one flat side. That flat, thin slab is the idea of a slice or a thin piece.
Common mistake: Learners often write 片 like its mirror image 爿, or mix it up with 斤 (jīn). In 片 the vertical stroke is on the left and the short horizontal sticks out to the right. Another trap is using 片 for flat things like paper or tickets, which normally take 张 (zhāng).
片 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.
片 piàn · thin piece · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 片.
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photograph |
| 影片 | yǐngpiàn | a copy of a film; film; motion picture; movie |
| 图片 | túpiàn | picture; photograph |
| 药片 | yàopiàn | a (medicine) pill or tablet |
| 唱片 | chàngpiàn | gramophone record; LP |
| 名片 | míngpiàn | (business) card |
| 相片 | xiàngpiàn | image; photograph |
| 动画片 | dònghuàpiàn | animated film |
| 片面 | piànmiàn | unilateral; one-sided |
| 薯片 | shǔpiàn | fried potato chips |
| 短片 | duǎnpiàn | short film; video clip |
| 卡片 | kǎpiàn | card |
Questions about 片
What does 片 mean?
片 (piàn) means "thin piece; flake" and is used as a measure word.
How do you write 片?
片 is made of 1 character: 片 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 片 an HSK word?
Yes. 片 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 片 and 张 as measure words?
张 (zhāng) is for flat things with a surface you spread out, like paper, tables, or tickets. 片 (piàn) is for thin slices or pieces, like 一片面包 (a slice of bread) or 一片叶子 (a leaf). Photos can take either, as in 一张照片 or 一片照片, but 张 is far more common.
When is 片 pronounced piān instead of piàn?
The piān reading is used in a few spoken words for disks or films, such as 唱片儿 (chàngpiānr) and 相片儿 (xiàngpiānr), especially with the 儿 ending in northern speech. In most cases, including the measure word, say piàn.