form; table (grid)
HSK level
表格 is written with 18 strokes (表: 8, 格: 10). The animation replays automatically.
表格 (biǎogé) is a noun meaning a 'form' or 'table' — a grid of rows and columns you fill in or read data from.
It covers both paper forms you complete (application forms, registration forms) and structured tables in documents or spreadsheets. English splits these into two words, 'form' and 'table,' but Chinese uses 表格 for both because the shared idea is the ruled grid. The key collocation for learners is 填表格 (tián biǎogé), 'to fill out a form.'
Note that a 'table' of furniture is 桌子 (zhuōzi), an entirely different word; 表格 never means the piece of furniture. In software and data contexts, 表格 is also the standard term for a spreadsheet-style table.
Note: Neutral; the everyday word for a printed or on-screen form and for a data table with rows and columns.
Character by character
Memory hook: A 'chart' (表) made of 'grid squares' (格) — a form you fill in box by box.
请填一下这张表格。
Qǐng tián yíxià zhè zhāng biǎogé.
Please fill out this form.
spoken, polite
我用电脑做了一个表格。
Wǒ yòng diànnǎo zuò le yí ge biǎogé.
I made a table on the computer.
neutral
表格里的信息都要填清楚。
Biǎogé lǐ de xìnxī dōu yào tián qīngchu.
All the information in the form must be filled in clearly.
written
这个表格太复杂了，我不会填。
Zhège biǎogé tài fùzá le, wǒ bú huì tián.
This form is too complicated; I don't know how to fill it out.
spoken
表 alone can mean 'form/table/chart' and is used in compounds like 报名表 or 课程表. 表格 emphasizes the grid structure as a physical thing you fill out or draw; 表 is the shorter, more compound-forming form.
表单 is the technical term for a 'form' in software/web contexts (an online input form). 表格 is broader and covers both paper forms and data tables; 表单 is chiefly digital and interactive.
Acquire it by listening
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