Meaning of 聊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (coll.) to chat
- (literary) temporarily; for a while
- (literary) somewhat; slightly
- (literary) to depend upon
How to use 聊
In everyday speech 聊 means to chat, and it often takes a topic or the word 天 (tiān) to form 聊天 (liáotiān). You can say 聊一聊 or 聊聊 for a relaxed "let's talk." Example: 我们晚上聊聊吧。(Wǒmen wǎnshang liáoliao ba.) Let's chat this evening.
聊 has 耳 (ěr, ear) on the left, so think of lending someone your ear. When you chat, you listen as much as you talk.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 聊 with 柳 (liǔ, willow), because the right sides look alike. 聊 has 耳 (ear) on the left and a second tone, while 柳 has 木 (tree) and a third tone.
聊 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.
聊 liáo · to chat · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 聊.
Questions about 聊
What does 聊 mean?
聊 (liáo) means "(coll.) to chat; (literary) temporarily; for a while" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 聊?
聊 is made of 1 character: 聊 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 聊 an HSK word?
Yes. 聊 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 聊 take an object directly, like 聊工作?
Yes. In spoken Chinese you can say 聊工作 (liáo gōngzuò, talk about work) or 聊电影 (liáo diànyǐng, talk about movies). With 聊天 you put the topic elsewhere, for example 跟他聊天 (gēn tā liáotiān, chat with him).
Why does 无聊 mean boring if 聊 means chat?
无聊 (wúliáo) comes from the older literary sense of 聊 as something to depend on or rely on. 无聊 is literally having nothing to rely on, which became bored or boring. It is not about having no one to chat with.