看书

Learning Chinese: How to Say "Read" in Chinese

Chinese Characters: 看书
Pinyin: kàn shū
Pronunciation: kan4 shu1
English Translation: Read

Usage:

"看书 (kàn shū)" means "to read" in Chinese. It can be used to refer to reading any type of written material, such as books, newspapers, magazines, or online articles.

Example:

Chinese: 我喜欢看书。
Pinyin: Wǒ xǐhuān kàn shū.
English: I like to read.

Variations:

There are a few variations of "看书 (kàn shū)" that you may hear:

读书 (dú shū): This is a more formal way to say "read," often used in academic or professional contexts.
阅览 (yuè lǎn): This means "to read through" or "to browse," and is often used in the context of reading newspapers or magazines.

Tips for Learning:

Practice saying "看书 (kàn shū)" out loud to improve your pronunciation.
Listen to native Chinese speakers saying "read" to get a sense of the natural rhythm and intonation.
Use "看书 (kàn shū)" in your daily conversations to practice using it in context.

Additional Notes:

"看书 (kàn shū)" can also be used to refer to the act of studying or learning from a book.
To say "I am reading a book," you can say "我在看书 (wǒ zài kàn shū)."
To say "What are you reading?" you can say "你在看什么书 (nǐ zài kàn shénme shū)?"