(shì pín) - video, video clip in Mandarin

shìpín

Traditional: 視頻

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Translation

video, video clip

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Word origin

A technical calque from 视 (shì, to look at) and 频 (pín, frequency), coined to render the engineering term video frequency and later generalised to any clip.

Origin
compound
Root
视 (shì, to look at) + 频 (pín, frequency)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 视

视

Stroke order for 频

频

Examples

。

I will send you a video.

。

This video is a bit long.

。

They watch videos online.

通tōng。

We had a video call yesterday.

。

There are a lot of videos saved on the phone.

视频 (shì pín) is a video: the clip on your phone, the thing you upload, the file you send a friend. Its measure word is 个 or 段, so 一段视频 is a stretch of footage. It also modifies other nouns freely, giving 视频通话 a video call, 视频会议 a video conference and 短视频 the short-form clips that dominate Chinese social media.

The word is mainland usage. In Taiwan and Hong Kong the ordinary word is 影片, and 视讯 does the job that 视频 does in compounds like video call. Neither is wrong; they simply belong to different sides of the strait, and a learner reading Taiwanese material will meet 影片 far more often.

The trap is treating it as film. A feature film is 电影 and a TV drama is 电视剧; 视频 is the format, not the art form. Calling last night's cinema trip 一个视频 makes it sound like somebody filmed it on a phone. Also keep 频 (pín) apart from 品 (pǐn) in 产品, since the tones are the only thing separating them.

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Mandarin · Free printables

视频: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "视频" (video, video clip): 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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This word is taught in chapter 28, lesson 2: 视频, 欺骗, 队伍 and 7 more words.