Meaning of 玩儿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to play
- to have fun
- to hang out
How to use 玩儿
玩儿 is the everyday spoken word for playing, having fun, or hanging out, and it is very common in northern Mandarin. It works for games, trips, and just spending time with friends. Example: 周末我们去公园玩儿吧。(Zhōumò wǒmen qù gōngyuán wánr ba.) Let's go hang out at the park this weekend.
玩 (wán) has the jade radical 王 on the left and 元 (yuán) on the right, so picture someone happily turning a piece of jade over in their hands just for fun. The 儿 (r) added after it is the northern erhua sound that makes the word feel casual and spoken.
Common mistake: Learners often pronounce 儿 as a separate syllable, saying wán ér, when it should blend into one syllable, wánr. Also, 玩儿 is not used for playing musical instruments. For that, Chinese uses 弹 (tán) for piano or guitar and 拉 (lā) for violin.
玩儿 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.
玩 wán · to play with · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
儿 ér · son · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 玩儿.
| 这儿 | zhèr | here |
| 儿子 | érzi | son |
| 哪儿 | nǎr | where?; wherever; anywhere; somewhere |
| 女儿 | nǚ'ér | daughter |
| 那儿 | nàr | there |
| 开玩笑 | kāi wánxiào | to play a joke; to make fun of; to joke |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 女孩儿 | nǚháir | erhua form of 女孩[nu : 3 hai2] |
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] |
| 小孩儿 | xiǎoháir | erhua variant of 小孩[xiao3 hai2] |
Questions about 玩儿
What does 玩儿 mean?
玩儿 (wánr) means "to play; to have fun" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 玩儿?
玩儿 is made of 2 characters: 玩 (8 strokes), 儿 (2 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 玩儿 an HSK word?
Yes. 玩儿 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 玩儿 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 玩儿 is written 玩兒.
What is the difference between 玩 and 玩儿?
They mean the same thing. 玩儿 with the r sound is typical of Beijing and northern speech, while 玩 alone is more common in southern China, Taiwan, and in writing.
Can I use 玩儿 for adults, or is it only for children?
It is fine for adults. Adults use it for traveling, going out, or spending time together, for example 欢迎来北京玩儿 (huānyíng lái Běijīng wánr), meaning welcome to come visit Beijing.