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聊天 (liáo tiān) — to chat; (colloquial) to gossip

Definition

聊天 (liáo tiān) is a separable verb meaning 'to chat' casually — split as 聊天 / 聊…天 with particles like 了, 过, or a duration (聊了一会儿天). No listed HSK sibling to contrast with.

verb
to chat(colloquial) to gossip

Examples

  • 聊天。
    Wǒ men jīng cháng zài wǎng shàng liáo tiān.
    We often chat online.
  • 。
    Wǒ gēn tā liáo le yí huì r tiān.
    I chatted with him for a while.
  • 聊天。
    Tā men yì biān hē chá yì biān liáo tiān.
    They chatted while drinking tea.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

聊liáochat
天tiāndummy

聊天 combines 聊, chat, with a dummy 天, so the whole means to chat or gossip.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
卯
卯mǎo聊liáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

聊 shows 耳 (ear) beside 卯, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was tinnitus.

Open 聊 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 4Communication & Speech3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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