biscuit; cookie; cracker
HSK level
饼干 is written with 12 strokes (饼: 9, 干: 3). The animation replays automatically.
饼干 (bǐnggān) is a noun covering the whole family of dry, baked snacks that English splits into 'biscuit,' 'cookie,' and 'cracker.'
Chinese does not draw those distinctions with separate words: a plain saltine, a chocolate-chip cookie, and a British digestive are all 饼干, distinguished only by adjectives (甜饼干 'sweet cookies,' 咸饼干 'savory crackers'). This is the main thing English speakers must adjust to — there is no built-in sweet/savory or American/British split. 饼干 is a common everyday food word, neutral in register, used in shopping, snacking, and describing food.
It is counted with 块 or 片 for pieces and 包 or 盒 for packaging. The character 饼 means a flat round cake and 干 means dry.
Character by character
Memory hook: 饼 (flat cake) + 干 (dry): a dry flat cake — a biscuit or cookie.
小孩子很喜欢吃甜饼干。
Xiǎo háizi hěn xǐhuan chī tián bǐnggān.
Little kids love eating sweet cookies.
spoken
我买了一包饼干当早饭。
Wǒ mǎile yì bāo bǐnggān dāng zǎofàn.
I bought a pack of biscuits for breakfast.
spoken
这种饼干不太甜，很适合配茶。
Zhè zhǒng bǐnggān bú tài tián, hěn shìhé pèi chá.
This kind of biscuit isn't very sweet; it goes well with tea.
neutral
桌子上还有几块饼干，你吃吧。
Zhuōzi shàng hái yǒu jǐ kuài bǐnggān, nǐ chī ba.
There are still a few biscuits on the table; go ahead and eat them.
spoken
曲奇 is a loanword ('cookie') for Western-style soft, sweet cookies specifically, common on packaging and in bakeries. 饼干 is the broad umbrella term; 曲奇 names one sweet subtype.
薄脆 describes thin, crispy crackers by texture. 饼干 is the general category word regardless of texture.
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