别 (bié): to leave, to part (from), (literary) to differentiate, to distinguish, (dialect) to turn away, to turn aside, to avert (one's face, gaze etc)
别 (bié) is a Chinese character meaning “to leave.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 另 (structural) and 刂 (structural). It ranks #222 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 别 to draw boundaries 刂 between classes 另. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 到 (dào, to reach), 前 (qián, front).
Definitions
- to leave
- to part (from)
- (literary) to differentiate
- to distinguish
- (dialect) to turn away
- to turn aside
- to avert (one's face, gaze etc)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo draw boundaries 刂 between classes 另
Decomposition: ⿰另刂 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 别 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 别
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 别人 | bié ren | other people | 3 |
| 特别adjective/adverb | tè bié | unusual | 3 |
| 别的pronoun | bié de | else | 3 |
| 区别verb/noun | qū bié | difference | 4 |
| 告别verb | gào bié | to leave | 5 |
| 分别verb/adverb/noun | fēn bié | to part | 5 |
| 识别verb | shí bié | to distinguish | 6 |
| 差别noun | chā bié | difference | 5 |
| 性别noun | xìng bié | gender | 4 |
| 个别adverb/adjective | gè bié | individually | 5 |
| 类别noun | lèi bié | classification | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 级别 | jí bié | (military) rank |
| 别墅 | bié shù | villa |
| 道别 | dào bié | to say goodbye |
| 别处 | bié chù | elsewhere |
| 永别 | yǒng bié | to part forever |
| 别扭 | biè niu | awkward |
| 别针 | bié zhēn | pin |
| 辨别 | biàn bié | to distinguish |
| 鉴别 | jiàn bié | to differentiate |
| 离别 | lí bié | to leave (on a long journey) |
| 派别 | pài bié | group |
| 别致 | bié zhì | unusual |
| 别名 | bié míng | alias |
| 送别 | sòng bié | to see sb off |
| 临别 | lín bié | just before parting |
别 appears in 100 compound words: 34 as the first character, 51 as the last, and 15 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 别 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (19)
(Buddhism) the pain of parting with what (or whom) one loves, one of the eight distresses 八苦[ba1 ku3]
to have a style of one's own; to have a unique style; in a class by itself; peculiar
being of or showing another level of scenery; (of a place) to be amazingly beautiful and unique
(Buddhism) the pain of parting with what (or whom) one loves, one of the eight distresses 八苦[ba1 ku3]
to have a style of one's own; to have a unique style; in a class by itself; peculiar
Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 别.
Example Sentences
他知道很多关于这个城市的历史故事，讲起来滔滔不绝。
Tā zhīdào hěn duō guānyú zhè gè chéngshì de lìshǐ gùshi, jiǎng qǐlai tāotāo bùjué.
He knows many historical stories about this city and can talk about them endlessly.
京都浴屏设计独特 告别传统浴帘缺点
jīng dōu yù bǐng shè jì dú tè gào bié chuán tǒng yù lián quē diǎn
Kyoto's bath screen design is unique, say goodbye to the shortcomings of traditional shower curtains
...本流感疫情持续高位,七成地区达“警报”级别
. . . běn liú gǎn yì qíng chí xù gāo wèi , qī chéng dì qū dá jǐng bào jí bié
... The influenza epidemic continues to be high, with 70% of the areas reaching the "alert" level
温暖守护特别策划:良田与奶奶的“十年之约”
wēn nuǎn shǒu hù tè bié cè huá liáng tián yú nǎi nǎi de shí nián zhī yāo
Warm Guardian Special Program: Yoshida's "Ten-Year Pact" with Grandma
高墙内外 别样新春
gāo qiáng nèi wài bié yàng xīn chūn
Inside and Outside the Walls: A Different Kind of Spring Festival
在浙江,看完电影票根别扔!可以当钱用
zài zhè jiāng , kàn wán diàn yǐng piào gēn bié rēng ! kě yǐ dāng qián yòng
In Zhejiang, don't throw away your movie ticket stubs! They can be used as money.
你还有别的问题吗？
Nǐ háiyǒu biéde wèntí ma?
Do you have any further questions?
“这”和“那”有什么区别？
"zhè " hé "nà " yǒu shénme qūbié?
What is the difference between this and that?
你说英语别人能懂吗？
Nǐ shuō Yīngyǔ biéren néng dǒng ma?
Can you make yourself understood in English?
在巴黎别人听得懂她说的法语吗？
Zài Bālí biéren tīngdedǒng tā shuō de Fǎyǔ ma?
Could she make herself understood in French in Paris?
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced bié
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 别 (bié) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 别 have?
What is the radical of 别?
What are the components of 别?
What are common words containing 别?
What characters sound the same as 别 (bié)?
Is 别 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 别 with real-time feedback
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