game
HSK level
游戏 is written with 18 strokes (游: 12, 戏: 6). The animation replays automatically.
游戏 (yóuxì) is the Chinese noun for 'game' — covering everything from a children's playground game to a video game on your phone.
Literally 'play + amuse,' the word fits both kid play (做游戏 — 'play a game') and modern digital games (玩游戏 — 'play a video game'; 手机游戏 — 'mobile game'). The verb that goes with 游戏 is 玩 ('to play'): 我喜欢玩游戏 ('I like playing games'). Don't say 做游戏 for video games — 做 is used for organized children's group games.
游戏 can also serve as a verb in compounds like 游戏人间 (a literary 'play with life'), but in daily speech it is overwhelmingly a noun. A common compound: 游戏机 ('gaming console'). For board games specifically, native speakers often say 桌游 (zhuōyóu).
Character by character
Memory hook: Roam + play — to roam around playing, i.e. a game.
我弟弟很喜欢玩游戏。
Wǒ dìdi hěn xǐhuan wán yóuxì.
My younger brother really likes playing games.
spoken
这个游戏很有意思。
Zhège yóuxì hěn yǒu yìsi.
This game is really fun.
spoken
孩子们在公园里做游戏。
Háizimen zài gōngyuán lǐ zuò yóuxì.
The children are playing games in the park.
neutral
别玩手机游戏了，去睡觉。
Bié wán shǒujī yóuxì le, qù shuìjiào.
Stop playing mobile games and go to sleep.
spoken
我们一起玩个游戏吧。
Wǒmen yìqǐ wán ge yóuxì ba.
Let's play a game together.
spoken
游泳 means 'to swim' — same first character 游 but completely different meaning. 去游泳 ('go swimming') vs 玩游戏 ('play games').
戏 alone usually means 'play / opera / drama' — 京戏 ('Peking opera'). 游戏 specifically means 'game.'
玩具 is a 'toy' — a physical object. 游戏 is an activity. A kid plays 游戏 with 玩具.
Acquire it by listening
Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 游戏 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.
