Chinese words starting with “chi”
32 words in our HSK vocabulary start with the syllable chi. They are sorted by how common they are, so the ones you are most likely to meet come first. The 2 most useful of them have their own page — they are listed first below.
Initial ch · final i · hear the four tones and see example characters →
- 1st tone 10
- 2nd tone 13
- 3rd tone 6
- 4th tone 3
Word counts by tone are counted on the first syllable of each word.
Common words with this syllable
- 吃饭chī fànHSK 1
to have a meal; to eat; to make a living
- 持续chí xùHSK 3
to continue; to persist; to last; sustainable; preservation
All 32 words
| # | Word | Pinyin | POS | Meaning | Study list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 吃 | chī | v | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc) | |
| 2 | 持 | chí | v | to hold; to grasp; to support; to maintain; to persevere; to manage; to run (i.e. administer); to control | |
| 3 | 迟到 | chí dào | v,vn | to arrive late | |
| 4 | 迟 | chí | a,ad | late; delayed; slow | |
| 5 | 持有 | chí yǒu | v,vn | to hold (passport, views etc) | |
| 6 | 尺 | chǐ | q,g | a Chinese foot; one-third of a meter; a ruler; a tape-measure; one of the three acupoints for measuring pulse in Chinese medicine | |
| 7 | 吃惊 | chī jīng | a | to be startled; to be shocked; to be amazed | |
| 8 | 尺寸 | chǐ cun | n | size; dimensions; measurements (esp. of clothes); (coll.) propriety | |
| 9 | 翅膀 | chì bǎng | n | wing | |
| 10 | 迟早 | chí zǎo | d,a | sooner or later | |
| 11 | 持久 | chí jiǔ | a,ad | lasting; enduring; persistent; permanent; protracted; endurance; persistence; to last long | |
| 12 | 耻辱 | chǐ rǔ | n | disgrace; shame; humiliation | |
| 13 | 痴呆 | chī dāi | z | imbecility; dementia | |
| 14 | 痴迷 | chī mí | v,vn | infatuated; obsessed | |
| 15 | 池塘 | chí táng | n | pool; pond | |
| 16 | 吃亏 | chī kuī | a,v | to suffer losses; to come to grief; to lose out; to get the worst of it; to be at a disadvantage; unfortunately | |
| 17 | 尺度 | chǐ dù | n | scale; yardstick | |
| 18 | 迟疑 | chí yí | a,an | to hesitate | |
| 19 | 吃力 | chī lì | a | to entail strenuous effort; to toil at a task; strenuous; laborious; strain | |
| 20 | 赤字 | chì zì | n | (financial) deficit; red letter | |
| 21 | 迟迟 | chí chí | d | late (with a task etc); slow | |
| 22 | 迟缓 | chí huǎn | a | slow; sluggish | |
| 23 | 吃苦 | chī kǔ | v,vn | to bear hardships | |
| 24 | 池子 | chí zi | n | pond; bathhouse pool; dance floor of a ballroom; (old) stalls (front rows in a theater) | |
| 25 | 赤道 | chì dào | n | equator (of the earth or a celestial body); celestial equator | |
| 26 | 持之以恒 | chí zhī yǐ héng | v | to pursue unremittingly (idiom); to persevere | |
| 27 | 吃喝玩乐 | chī hē wán lè | v | to eat, drink and be merry (idiom); to abandon oneself to a life of pleasure | |
| 28 | 痴心 | chī xīn | n | infatuation | |
| 29 | 驰名 | chí míng | vn,v | famous | |
| 30 | 尺子 | chǐ zi | n | ruler (measuring instrument) | |
| 31 | 耻笑 | chǐ xiào | v,vn | to sneer at sb; to ridicule | |
| 32 | 吃不上 | chī bu shàng | unable to get anything to eat; to miss a meal |
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