杯子
cup; glass; mug
HSK level
- Pinyin
- bēizi
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 11
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 个 / 只
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 杯子
杯子 is written with 11 strokes (杯: 8, 子: 3). The animation replays automatically.
What does 杯子 mean?
杯子 (bēizi) is the everyday Mandarin noun for a drinking vessel — cup, glass, mug, or tumbler, regardless of material.
The 子 here is a noun suffix (toneless), not a separate word; it turns the single character 杯 into a stand-alone everyday noun, the same way 桌 becomes 桌子 (table). Unlike English, Chinese does not separate 'cup' from 'glass' from 'mug' — 杯子 covers them all, and you specify the material only when it matters: 玻璃杯 (glass cup), 纸杯 (paper cup), 茶杯 (teacup). The measure word for one cup of liquid is also 杯 — note the difference between 一杯水 (a cup of water) and 一个杯子 (one cup as an object).
Character by character
Memory hook: 杯 has the 木 (wood) radical on the left — early cups were carved from wood.
Hear 杯子 in real episodes
杯子 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode 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.
杯子上，有你的指纹。
Your fingerprint is on the cup.
Fingerprints on the Terracotta Army Suggest Women and Teenagers Helped Make ItBeginner
Example sentences
这是我的杯子。
Zhè shì wǒ de bēizi.
This is my cup.
spoken
请给我一个杯子。
Qǐng gěi wǒ yí gè bēizi.
Please give me a cup.
spoken, polite
杯子里有水。
Bēizi lǐ yǒu shuǐ.
There's water in the cup.
neutral
我要买两个杯子。
Wǒ yào mǎi liǎng gè bēizi.
I want to buy two cups.
spoken
Common phrases with 杯子
Synonyms
Specifically a teacup, often smaller and without a handle. 杯子 is the everyday cover word for any cup.
A mug — loaned from English. 杯子 is generic; 马克杯 specifies the handled, ceramic mug shape.
Don't confuse 杯子 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 杯子 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 杯子 in 1 episode. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.