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虽 meaning in English

suī

although; even though

HSK 6conjunctionTraditional 雖9 strokes

Meaning of 虽

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

suī
  1. although
  2. even though

How to use 虽

On its own, 虽 (suī) is a bit formal and written. It usually sits right after the subject and is followed by 但 (dàn) or 却 (què) in the next clause. Example: 他虽年轻，但很有经验。(Tā suī niánqīng, dàn hěn yǒu jīngyàn.) Although he is young, he is very experienced.

The bottom part of 虽 (suī) is 虫 (chóng), the character for insect or bug, with 口 (kǒu, mouth) on top. Picture a tiny bug with a big mouth: although it is small, it still speaks up.

Common mistake: Learners often drop the second half and say only 虽然..., but in Chinese you normally keep 但是 (dànshì) or 可是 (kěshì) in the second clause, which feels wrong to English speakers who never say "although... but." Also avoid putting 虽 before the subject in formal style, since 虽 alone usually comes after the subject, as in 他虽... rather than 虽他....

虽 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā虽suī年nián轻qīng，但dàn十shí分fēn英yīng明míng。
Though young, he is wise.
虽suī然rán他tā是shì中zhōng国guó人rén，但dàn他tā不bú会huì说shuō中zhōng文wén。
Although he is Chinese, he doesn't speak Chinese.
虽suī然rán考kǎo试shì近jìn了le, 他tā还hái没méi有yǒu把bǎ书shū念niàn完wán。
He could not get through his work, though the examination was near.
他tā虽suī然rán很hěn累lèi，但dàn是shì也yě继jì续xù工gōng作zuò。
Even though he was tired, he went on with his work.
虽suī然rán有yǒu三sān间jiān空kōng屋wū，但dàn哪nǎ间jiān都dōu用yòng不bù了liǎo。
We have three spare rooms, none of which can be used.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

虽 suī · although · 9 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

Related words

Words that share a character with 虽.

虽然suīránalthough; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc)
虽说suīshuōthough; although
话虽如此huàsuīrúcǐbe that as it may

Questions about 虽

What does 虽 mean?

虽 (suī) means "although; even though" and is used as a conjunction.

How do you write 虽?

虽 is made of 1 character: 虽 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 虽 an HSK word?

Yes. 虽 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 虽 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 虽 is written 雖.

What is the difference between 虽 and 虽然?

They mean the same thing. 虽然 (suīrán) is the everyday form used in speech and writing. 虽 (suī) alone sounds more literary and compact, so it shows up in formal writing and set phrases like 话虽如此 (huà suī rúcǐ), be that as it may.

Is 虽说 the same as 虽然?

虽说 (suīshuō) also means although, but it is more colloquial and often carries a feeling of "it is true that... but." For example, 虽说有点贵，可是质量很好 (suīshuō yǒudiǎn guì, kěshì zhìliàng hěn hǎo) means although it is a bit expensive, the quality is good.

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