那 meaning in English
(specifier) that; the; those (colloquial pr. [nei4]); (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations)
Meaning of 那
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (specifier) that; the; those (colloquial pr. [nei4])
- (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations)
- then (in that case)
- variant of 哪[na3]
- (archaic) many
- beautiful
- how
- old variant of 挪[nuo2]
- surname Na
How to use 那
那 (nà) points to something farther away, the opposite of 这 (zhè, this). It often comes before a measure word, as in 那个 (nàge), and at the start of a sentence it can mean "then" or "in that case." Example: 那个人是我老师。(Nàge rén shì wǒ lǎoshī.) That person is my teacher.
The right side of 那 (nà) is the ear-shaped component 阝, which on the right side traditionally relates to towns and places. Picture pointing at a town far away and saying "that place over there."
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 那 (nà, that) with 哪 (nǎ, which). They look alike, but 哪 has an extra 口 (mouth) on the left because it asks a question. Say the falling fourth tone for "that" and the dipping third tone for "which."
那 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.
那 nà · that · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 那.
| 那些 | nàxiē | those |
| 那里 | nàlǐ | there; that place |
| 那边 | nàbiān | over there; yonder |
| 那儿 | nàr | there |
| 那么 | nàme | like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ... |
| 那样 | nàyàng | that kind; that sort |
| 那时 | nà shí | then; at that time |
| 那会儿 | nàhuìr | at that time (in the past or the future); also pr. [nei4 hui4 r5] |
| 那时候 | nà shíhou | at that time |
| 一刹那 | yīchànà | a moment; an instant |
| 那个 | nàge | that one; that thing |
| 那种 | nàzhǒng | that kind of |
Questions about 那
What does 那 mean?
那 (nà) means "(specifier) that; the; those (colloquial pr. [nei4]); (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations)" and is used as a pronoun and conjunction.
How do you write 那?
那 is made of 1 character: 那 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 那 an HSK word?
Yes. 那 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why do I hear people say 那个 as "nèige" instead of "nàge"?
In colloquial speech, 那 before a measure word or number is often pronounced nèi. Both nàge and nèige are correct and common. Learners can use either.
How do you use 那 to mean "then" or "so" in a conversation?
At the start of a sentence, 那 or 那么 (nàme) links to what someone just said, like "well then." Example: 那我们走吧。(Nà wǒmen zǒu ba.) Then let's go.