印象
impression
HSK level
- Pinyin
- yìnxiàng
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 4
- Strokes
- 16
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 个
Stroke order for 印象
印象 is written with 16 strokes (印: 5, 象: 11). The animation replays automatically.
What does 印象 mean?
印象 (yìnxiàng) is a noun meaning the impression, mental image, or lasting sense that a person, place, or event leaves in your mind.
It is neutral in register and appears constantly in everyday speech, especially in the fixed phrases 印象深刻 (a deep impression) and 第一印象 (first impression). Unlike English 'impression,' 印象 in Chinese is almost always a noun paired with a verb — you 有印象 (have an impression), 留印象 (leave one), or 给某人留下印象 (leave someone with one); you cannot use it as a verb the way English 'to impress' works. A key idiom is 没印象 (méi yìnxiàng), meaning 'I don't remember' or 'it doesn't ring a bell,' a very common colloquial way to say something isn't familiar.
Character by character
Memory hook: An 'imprinted image' pressed into your mind — that's the impression it leaves.
Example sentences
他给我的第一印象很好。
Tā gěi wǒ de dì-yī yìnxiàng hěn hǎo.
My first impression of him was very good.
neutral
这个电影让我印象深刻。
Zhège diànyǐng ràng wǒ yìnxiàng shēnkè.
This movie made a deep impression on me.
neutral
这个名字我一点印象都没有。
Zhège míngzi wǒ yìdiǎn yìnxiàng dōu méiyǒu.
This name doesn't ring a bell at all.
spoken
面试时要给面试官留下好印象。
Miànshì shí yào gěi miànshìguān liúxià hǎo yìnxiàng.
In an interview you should leave the interviewer with a good impression.
written
Common phrases with 印象
Synonyms
感觉 is a broader 'feeling / sense' that can be fleeting and about anything. 印象 specifically refers to the mental image or lasting sense a person or thing leaves in memory.
记忆 is 'memory' — the stored record of past events. 印象 is fuzzier and more subjective: your general sense of something rather than a precise recollection.
Don't confuse 印象 with
现象 means 'phenomenon' — something that objectively happens, like a social phenomenon. 印象 is subjective, the impression inside your own mind. They share the character 象 but are unrelated in use.
FAQ
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