Kilo Lingo

(màn) - slow in Mandarin

màn

Traditional: 慢

Line drawing of 慢
Coloured illustration of 慢
#3127 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

slow

Stroke order

Stroke order for 慢

Examples

liàng

This car drives very slowly.

Please speak a little more slowly.

He walks very slowly.

My phone's internet speed is too slow.

The teacher speaks neither fast nor slow.

慢 (màn) is slow, the plain opposite of 快 (kuài), "fast". It describes speed of any kind: traffic, speech, internet, a person's pace, all take 慢 (màn) the same way.

Like most one-syllable adjectives in Mandarin, 慢 (màn) doubles up for emphasis or gentleness: 慢慢 (mànmàn) or 慢慢地 (mànmàn de) means "slowly, gradually", and turns up constantly as parting advice - 慢走 (màn zǒu), "mind how you go" (literally "walk slowly"), is what a Chinese host says as a guest leaves.

请慢一点说 (qǐng màn yīdiǎn shuō), "please speak a little more slowly", is one of the most useful sentences a learner can own outright. Keep it ready.

Where this fits

Used in

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

Mandarin · Free printables

慢: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "慢" (slow): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 63.