{"id":181322,"date":"2012-07-13T07:37:47","date_gmt":"2012-07-13T11:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/chinese-newbie-tips-toknow\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T06:30:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T11:30:46","slug":"to-know-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/to-know-in-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say “To Know” in Chinese: \u77e5\u9053 vs \u8ba4\u8bc6"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are two ways to say “to know” in Chinese: \u77e5\u9053<\/strong> (zh\u012b d\u00e0o)<\/em> and \u8ba4\u8bc6<\/strong> (r\u00e8n shi)<\/em>. But there are very important differences between the two.<\/p>\n

There are certain circumstances where usage might be interchangeable, but more often than not you’ll want to be careful which you use. Here’s what both of them mean and when to use each one.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

1. \u77e5\u9053 (zh\u012b d\u00e0o)<\/em><\/h2>\n

Definition:<\/strong> To know, to be aware of<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a default way to say “I know…”, \u77e5\u9053<\/strong> is usually your best bet. Its range of use and flexibility is broader than \u8ba4\u8bc6. You can use it for facts, objects, or people you aren’t personally acquainted with, but are aware of or have a general understanding about.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u600e\u4e48\u77e5\u9053\uff1f<\/strong>
\n(n\u01d0 z\u011bn me zh\u012b d\u00e0o?)<\/em>
\nHow do you know?<\/p>\n

\u4ed6\u77e5\u9053\u600e\u4e48\u6837\u8bf4\u4e09\u79cd\u8bed\u8a00\u3002<\/strong>
\n(t\u0101 zh\u012b d\u00e0o z\u011bn me y\u00e0ng shu\u014d s\u0101n zh\u01d2ng y\u01d4 y\u00e1n.)<\/em>
\nHe knows how to speak three languages.<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u77e5\u9053\u6bd4\u8d5b\u7684\u7ed3\u679c\uff1f<\/strong>
\n(n\u01d0 zh\u012b d\u00e0o b\u01d0 s\u00e0i de ji\u00e9 gu\u01d2?)<\/em>
\nDo you know the result of the match?<\/p>\n

\u6211\u4e0d\u77e5\u9053\u8001\u5e08\u7684\u610f\u601d\u3002<\/strong>
\n(w\u01d2 b\u00f9 zh\u012b d\u00e0o l\u01ceo sh\u012b de y\u00ec si)<\/em>
\nI don’t know what the teacher means.<\/p>\n

\u4ed6\u7684\u76ee\u6807\u662f\u8ba9\u4eba\u77e5\u9053\u3002<\/strong>
\n(t\u0101 de m\u00f9 bi\u0101o sh\u00ec r\u00e0ng r\u00e9n zh\u012b d\u00e0o.)<\/em>
\nHis goal is to let people know.<\/p>\n

2. \u8ba4\u8bc6 (r\u00e8n shi)<\/em><\/h2>\n

Definition:<\/strong> To know, understand, be familiar with, to meet (a person)<\/p>\n

Using \u8ba4\u8bc6<\/strong> indicates a degree of familiarity with an object, person or idea. It implies a level of understanding that goes beyond \u77e5\u9053<\/strong>\u00a0and connotes a level of personal familiarity.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n

\u5f88\u9ad8\u5174\u8ba4\u8bc6\u4f60\uff01<\/strong>
\n(h\u011bn g\u0101o x\u00ecng r\u00e8n shi n\u01d0!)<\/em>
\nSo happy to meet you!<\/p>\n

\u6211\u4eec\u662f\u5728\u5927\u5b66\u8ba4\u8bc6\u7684\u3002<\/strong>
\n(w\u01d2 men sh\u00ec z\u00e0i d\u00e0xu\u00e9 r\u00e8n shi de.)<\/em>
\nWe met in college.<\/p>\n

\u6211\u8ba4\u8bc6\u8fd9\u4e2a\u6c49\u5b57\u3002<\/strong>
\n(w\u01d2 r\u00e8n shi zh\u00e8 ge h\u00e0n z\u00ec.)<\/em>
\nI know this Chinese character.<\/p>\n

\u4ed6\u8ba4\u8bc6\u5230\u8fd9\u662f\u4e00\u4ef6\u574f\u4e8b\u3002<\/strong>
\n(t\u0101 r\u00e8n shi d\u00e0o zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec y\u012b ji\u00e0n hu\u00e0i sh\u00ec.)<\/em>
\nHe realized this was a bad thing.<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u5f97\u8ba4\u8bc6\u5230\u4f60\u7684\u9519\u8bef\u3002<\/strong>
\n(n\u01d0 d\u011bi r\u00e8n shi d\u00e0o n\u01d0 de cu\u00f2 w\u00f9.)<\/em>
\nYou must recognize your mistakes.<\/p>\n

When to Use \u8ba4\u8bc6 vs \u77e5\u9053<\/h2>\n

Here are some simple tips to remember. Besides these, another tip is to use FluentU<\/a> to see how to use these words in context. <\/p>\n