Meaning of 给
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to
- for
- for the benefit of
- to give
- to allow
- to do sth (for sb)
- (grammatical equivalent of 被)
- (grammatical equivalent of 把)
- (bound form) to supply; to provide
- (literary) sufficient; abundant
How to use 给
给 (gěi) is used as a verb meaning to give, and very often as a preposition before a person to mean to or for. The person usually comes before the action: 我给你打电话 (wǒ gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà), I will call you.
给 has the silk radical 纟 on the left and 合 (hé, to join) on the right. Picture tying silk thread around a gift to join it to someone else, and you get 给, to give.
Common mistake: Learners often put 给 at the end like English, saying 我打电话给你 for everything, but natural spoken Mandarin usually prefers 给 + person + verb, as in 我给你打电话. Also do not confuse 给 with 恰 or 拾; check for the silk radical 纟 on the left.
给 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.
给 gěi · to · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 给.
| 交给 | jiāo gěi | to give; to deliver; to hand over |
| 送给 | sòng gěi | to send; to give as a present |
| 递给 | dì gěi | to hand it (i.e. the aforementioned item) to (sb) |
| 给予 | jǐyǔ | (literary) to give; to accord; to render |
| 供给 | gōngjǐ | to furnish; to provide |
| 补给 | bǔjǐ | supply; replenishment |
| 还给 | huángěi | to return sth to sb |
| 留给 | liúgěi | to set aside for |
| 带给 | dàigěi | to give to; to provide to |
| 传给 | chuángěi | to pass on to; to transfer to; to hand on to; (in football etc) to pass to |
| 借给 | jiègěi | to lend to sb |
| 发给 | fāgěi | to issue; to grant |
Questions about 给
What does 给 mean?
给 (gěi) means "to; for" and is used as a verb and preposition.
How do you write 给?
给 is made of 1 character: 给 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 给 an HSK word?
Yes. 给 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 给 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 给 is written 給.
When is 给 pronounced jǐ instead of gěi?
It is read jǐ in formal or bound words about supplying, such as 给予 (jǐyǔ), 供给 (gōngjǐ), and 补给 (bǔjǐ). In everyday speech, when it means to give or for, it is gěi.
Can 给 work like 被 or 把?
Yes, in casual speech 给 can mark the passive like 被, as in 杯子给他打破了 (bēizi gěi tā dǎpò le), the cup was broken by him. It can also appear before the verb for emphasis, as in 我把钱给丢了, I lost the money.