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HSK 3

历史

history

nounneutral4 episodes
历
lì4th tone
史
shǐ3rd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
lìshǐ
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
9
Register
neutral
Measure word
段 / 部
In episodes
4

Stroke order for 历史

历史 is written with 9 strokes (历: 4, 史: 5). The animation replays automatically.

What does 历史 mean?

历史 (lìshǐ) means 'history' — both the academic subject and the actual past events of a country, person, or institution.

As a school subject: 历史课 (history class), 学历史 (study history). As 'the past': 中国的历史 (China's history), 这家公司有100年的历史 ('this company has 100 years of history'). Unlike English, Chinese commonly treats 'has history' as a way to say something is old or established: 有历史 literally 'has history' = 'is historic / well-established.'

The character 历 (calendar / experience / pass through) plus 史 (records of the past) gives the literal sense 'records of what has been lived through.' Common adjective form is 历史的 or 历史性的 (historic). Do not confuse with 故事 (gùshi, 'story') — 历史 is real, documented; 故事 can be fictional.

Character by character

历lìto experience; pass through; calendar
+
史shǐhistory; historical records
=
历史

Memory hook: 历 (experience/pass through) + 史 (records) = the records of what has been passed through — history.

Hear 历史 in real episodes

历史 appears in 4 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.

国际女子棒球中心的联合创始人凯特·威廉姆斯,正在为罗克福德的一座永久展馆筹款,好在最后一批老球员离开以后,这段历史还能被保存下来。

Kat Williams, co-founder of the International Women's Baseball Center, is raising money for a permanent center in Rockford, so this history can be preserved after the last of the original players is gone.

The Real 'League of Their Own' Players Are in Their 90s — and Girls' Baseball Is Finally BoomingAdvanced

特朗普开玩笑说,美国的历史有两百五十年,中国的有六千年。

Trump joked that America's history is two hundred and fifty years, and China's is six thousand.

Xi's First Washington Visit in 11 Years: Pageantry, a Pair of Pandas and a Two-Month Trade Truce

Difficulty

从公元前五十八年到公元前五十年,罗马人和高卢各部落打了一连串的仗,历史上叫高卢战争。

From 58 BC to 50 BC, the Romans fought a series of wars against the Gallic tribes, known to history as the Gallic Wars.

A 2,000-Year-Old Wall Dug Up Under a Paris Hospital May Show Where Paris BeganAdvanced

一位美国历史老师发现,几百年前,很多人一个晚上睡两次。

An American history professor found that a few hundred years ago, many people slept twice a night.

The Economist's Joke Memo: A Company Tries to Fix Its Staff's Sleep, and Everything Goes Wrong

Difficulty
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Example sentences

我喜欢学中国历史。

Wǒ xǐhuan xué Zhōngguó lìshǐ.

I like studying Chinese history.

neutral

这本书讲的是历史。

Zhè běn shū jiǎng de shì lìshǐ.

This book is about history.

neutral

北京有很长的历史。

Běijīng yǒu hěn cháng de lìshǐ.

Beijing has a very long history.

neutral

明天我们有历史课。

Míngtiān wǒmen yǒu lìshǐ kè.

Tomorrow we have a history class.

spoken

Common phrases with 历史

历史课lìshǐ kèhistory class
中国历史Zhōngguó lìshǐChinese history
学历史xué lìshǐstudy history
历史悠久lìshǐ yōujiǔlong-standing history
有历史的yǒu lìshǐ dehistoric; with history

Synonyms

过去guòqù

过去 means 'the past' as a general time concept (yesterday, last year, earlier in life). 历史 is documented past — events significant enough to be recorded. Your personal 过去 isn't really 历史.

Don't confuse 历史 with

故事gùshi

故事 means 'story' and can be fiction or fact. 历史 is real, recorded past. A 历史故事 is 'a story FROM history' — using both words together is common.

厉害lìhai

厉害 ('amazing / formidable / severe') sounds similar in the first syllable. 历史 is the noun 'history.' Different characters, different meanings — just listen for what follows 'lì.'

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

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