HSK4 – Action and Change Words

Posted on by tiffany

Chinese Vocabulary · 中文词汇

Action and Change Words in Chinese (Part 1)

动作与变化词汇（一） dòngzuò yǔ biànhuà cíhuì

Wow, I’m surprised you’re still learning Chinese! Yes, by the time I got this far in building the website, the thought of giving up had already shown up. I looked at these words and tried to think of something to share with you, but the only thing that came to mind was those two characters: 放棄. Making this website has been a long and tiring process, and my thinking has changed. Do you think I should keep going?

OK, after you read this page’s vocabulary, you should be able to translate my little rant into Chinese, right? I used a lot of this chapter’s words. Give it a try!

Everyday actions

Everyday Action Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
按ànTo press; according to누르다; ~에 따라押す; ~に従って
背bēiTo carry on one’s back짊어지다; 메다背負う
步bùStep; pace걸음歩
擦cāTo wipe; to rub닦다; 문지르다拭く; こする
吹chuīTo blow불다吹く
倒dàoTo pour; to tip over따르다; 쓰러지다注ぐ; 倒れる
掉diàoTo fall; to drop; to lose떨어지다; 잃다落ちる; 失う
动作dòngzuòMovement; action동작動作
赶上gǎnshàngTo catch up with; to make it in time따라잡다; 시간에 맞추다追いつく; 間に合う
挂guàTo hang; to put up걸다掛ける
喊hǎnTo shout; to call외치다; 부르다叫ぶ; 呼ぶ

Same character, two sounds

Some action words change meaning with the pronunciation. 背 is bēi when you carry something on your back (背着小孩), but bèi when it means “back” or “to memorize” (背单词). Likewise, 倒 is dào when you pour something (倒水), but dǎo when something falls over (倒了).

Putting it all together

Examples

请qǐng按àn这里zhèlǐ，然后ránhòu把bǎ水shuǐ倒dào进jìn杯子bēizi里lǐPlease press this button, then pour the water into the cup.

他tā背着bēizhe小孩xiǎohái跑pǎo得de很hěn快kuài，终于zhōngyú赶上gǎnshàng了le公交车gōngjiāochēHe ran fast with his child on his back and finally made it onto the bus.

Things that change

Change and Process Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
产生chǎnshēngTo produce; to generate생기다; 발생하다生じる; 生み出す
成为chéngwéiTo become~이 되다~になる
重新chóngxīnAgain; anew다시改めて; 再び
出现chūxiànTo appear; to occur나타나다現れる
放弃fàngqìTo give up포기하다あきらめる; 放棄する
分为fēnwéiTo divide into; be divided into~으로 나뉘다~に分かれる
改变gǎibiànTo change; to alter바꾸다; 변하다変える; 変わる
过程guòchéngProcess과정過程
获得huòdéTo obtain; to gain얻다; 획득하다獲得する; 得る
积累jīlěiTo accumulate쌓다; 축적하다積み重ねる; 蓄積する
继续jìxùTo continue계속하다続ける
加快jiākuàiTo speed up빠르게 하다速める
加强jiāqiángTo strengthen강화하다強化する
减jiǎnTo subtract; to reduce빼다; 줄이다引く; 減らす
减轻jiǎnqīngTo reduce; to lessen덜다; 가볍게 하다軽くする; 軽減する
减少jiǎnshǎoTo reduce; to decrease줄이다; 줄어들다減らす; 減る
降jiàngTo fall; to descend; to lower내리다; 떨어지다降りる; 下がる
降低jiàngdīTo lower; to reduce낮추다下げる; 低くする

Going deeper with 改变

Want to see how 改變 (gǎibiàn) works in more situations? Read our full guide: How to say “change” in Chinese.

Four ways to say “reduce”

All four words involve “less,” but each one is used with different things. Pick the word by asking: what is getting smaller?

减 (jiǎn) is the basic “minus” or “subtract,” mostly used in math or as part of longer words.

十shí减jiǎn三sān等于děngyú七qīTen minus three equals seven.

减轻 (jiǎnqīng) makes something lighter or less severe: pain, burden, or weight. Think “ease.”

吃药chī yào以后yǐhòu，头痛tóutòng减轻jiǎnqīng了leAfter taking medicine, the headache eased.

减少 (jiǎnshǎo) makes a number or amount smaller: how many, how often, how much. Think “decrease.”

最近zuìjìn下雨xiàyǔ的de日子rìzi减少jiǎnshǎo了leRecently, the number of rainy days has decreased.

降低 (jiàngdī) lowers a level, like temperature, price or speed. Its short form 降 (jiàng) means “to come down.”

晚上wǎnshang气温qìwēn会huì降低jiàngdī到dào十度shí dùAt night, the temperature will drop to ten degrees.

价格jiàgé降jiàng了leThe price came down.

Putting it all together

Examples

虽然suīrán过程guòchéng很hěn辛苦xīnkǔ，但是dànshì我wǒ不想bù xiǎng放弃fàngqì，会huì继续jìxù努力nǔlìAlthough the process is hard, I don’t want to give up, and I will keep working hard.

这次zhè cì经验jīngyàn改变gǎibiàn了le我wǒ，我wǒ现在xiànzài比较bǐjiào不bù紧张jǐnzhāng了leThis experience changed me, and I’m less nervous now.

Test yourself

Vocabulary Quiz

HSK4
Do you like it? 🙂