to be familiar with; to know well
HSK level
熟悉 is written with 26 strokes (熟: 15, 悉: 11). The animation replays automatically.
熟悉 (shúxī) is a verb (also used adjectivally) meaning to be familiar with, to know well, or to acquaint oneself with something or someone.
It is neutral and extremely common in both speech and writing. Unlike English 'familiar,' which is only an adjective, 熟悉 works as a transitive verb: you can 熟悉一个城市 (get to know / become familiar with a city) or 熟悉工作 (learn the ropes of a job). It takes a direct object with no preposition — 我熟悉这里 (I'm familiar with this place), where English needs 'with.'
熟悉 implies real, experience-based familiarity, not a passing acquaintance: knowing a person 熟悉 means you know them well, not that you've just met. The negative 不熟悉 or the shorter 不熟 (bù shú) means you don't know something or someone well.
Character by character
Memory hook: 熟 (ripe/well-done) + 悉 (know) — you know it so well it's fully 'cooked' in your mind.
我对这个城市很熟悉。
Wǒ duì zhège chéngshì hěn shúxī.
I'm very familiar with this city.
neutral
他的声音听起来很熟悉。
Tā de shēngyīn tīng qǐlái hěn shúxī.
His voice sounds familiar.
spoken
新员工需要一周来熟悉工作。
Xīn yuángōng xūyào yì zhōu lái shúxī gōngzuò.
New employees need a week to get familiar with the job.
neutral
我们还不太熟悉，多聊聊吧。
Wǒmen hái bú tài shúxī, duō liáoliáo ba.
We don't know each other well yet, let's chat more.
spoken
熟练 means skilled / proficient at doing something (a skill you've practiced). 熟悉 means familiar with / knowing something. You're 熟练 at driving; you're 熟悉 with the roads.
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