电脑
computer
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HSK level
- Pinyin
- diànnǎo
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 15
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 台 / 个
- In episodes
- 5
Stroke order for 电脑
电脑 is written with 15 strokes (电: 5, 脑: 10). The animation replays automatically.
What does 电脑 mean?
电脑 (diànnǎo) is the everyday Chinese word for 'computer,' literally 'electric brain' (电 'electric' + 脑 'brain').
It covers both desktop and laptop machines in conversation; if you need to be specific, 笔记本电脑 (bǐjìběn diànnǎo) is 'notebook/laptop' and 台式电脑 (táishì diànnǎo) is 'desktop.' The more technical term 计算机 (jìsuànjī, 'calculating machine') is used in academic, IT-industry, and computer-science contexts — a CS major studies 计算机, but they use a 电脑 at home.
The measure word is 台 (一台电脑 'one computer'). 电脑 is also the base for compounds like 玩电脑 (play on the computer), 修电脑 (repair a computer), and 电脑游戏 (computer game).
Character by character
Memory hook: 电脑 = 'electric brain' — Chinese named computers after what they are, not what they do.
Hear 电脑 in real episodes
电脑 appears in 5 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed, 4 of them below. 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.
这家公司做电脑上用的软件。
This company makes software for computers.
Palantir Profit Soars as U.S. Commercial Revenue Overtakes Government Business for the First Time
AI 是电脑里的一个东西。
An AI is something inside a computer.
Claude's Maker Files to Go Public: Revenue Up 14-Fold
Zhou Ming会写电脑软件，女朋友要去医院看医生。
Zhou Ming can write computer software, and his girlfriend needs to go to the hospital to see a doctor.
Hospital Booking Bots Lead to Convictions
你家里的电视、电脑，都是机器。
The TVs and computers in your home are all machines.
Walmart Robots Struggle With Everyday GoodsBeginner
Example sentences
我有一台电脑。
Wǒ yǒu yì tái diànnǎo.
I have a computer.
neutral
我的电脑很新。
Wǒ de diànnǎo hěn xīn.
My computer is very new.
spoken
他在用电脑工作。
Tā zài yòng diànnǎo gōngzuò.
He is working on the computer.
neutral
我想买一台笔记本电脑。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì tái bǐjìběn diànnǎo.
I want to buy a laptop.
spoken
Common phrases with 电脑
Synonyms
Don't confuse 电脑 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
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