(diàn) - electricity; electric (in 电话, 电影, 电脑) in Mandarin

diàn

Traditional: 電

Line drawing of 电
Coloured illustration of 电
#5,049 by frequencyCore 5000

Translation

electricity; electric (in 电话, 电影, 电脑)

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Word origin

A simplified form derived from 電, originally a pictograph of lightning streaking from a cloud. It came to mean electricity and now serves as the first element of words such as 电话 (telephone) and 电脑 (computer).

Origin
pictographic
Root
电 (a pictograph of lightning, hence electricity)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 电

电

Examples

。

Let's watch a film together tonight.

。

Please give me a call.

。

This is my phone number.

。

The electricity went out suddenly last night.

。

My phone is out of battery.

电 (diàn) means electricity and serves as the electric- prefix in modern technology words like 电话 (telephone), 电影 (film), and 电脑 (computer).

Where this fits

Appears in 5 words

Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 电.

Used in

Grammar articles

(26)

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Mandarin · Free printables

电: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "电" (electricity; electric (in 电话, 电影, 电脑)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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