谈 (tán): to talk, to discuss
谈 (tán) is a Chinese character meaning “to talk, to discuss.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 讠 (semantic) and 炎 (phonetic). It ranks #474 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 谈 speech. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- to talk, to discuss
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 谈 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 谈
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 谈话verb | tán huà | to talk (with sb) | 5 |
| 谈论verb | tán lùn | to discuss | 6 |
| 交谈verb | jiāo tán | to discuss | 6 |
| 谈判verb | tán pàn | to negotiate | 6 |
| 访谈verb | fǎng tán | to visit and discuss | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 谈谈verb | tán tán | to discuss |
| 面谈verb | miàn tán | face-to-face meeting |
| 会谈noun | huì tán | talks |
| 谈心verb | tán xīn | to have a heart-to-heart chat |
| 无稽之谈phrase | wú jī zhī tán | (idiom) complete nonsense |
| 谈及verb | tán jí | to talk about |
| 健谈verb | jiàn tán | entertaining in conversation |
| 混为一谈phrase | hùn wéi yī tán | to confuse one thing with another (idiom) |
| 商谈verb | shāng tán | to confer |
| 闲谈verb | xián tán | variant of 閒談|闲谈 |
| 和谈noun | hé tán | peace talks |
| 夸夸其谈phrase | kuā kuā qí tán | variant of 誇誇其談|夸夸其谈 |
| 空谈noun | kōng tán | prattle |
| 老生常谈phrase | lǎo shēng cháng tán | an old observation (idiom) |
| 谈情说爱phrase | tán qíng shuō ài | to murmur endearments (idiom) |
谈 appears in 100 compound words: 33 as the first character, 56 as the last, and 11 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 谈 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (31)
to refuse to say anything about (idiom); to remain tight-lipped; to avoid mentioning
discuss freely; to indulge in loud and empty talk; to talk volubly or bombastically
Showing 12 of 31 idioms containing 谈.
Example Sentences
双方正在谈判合作细节，预计下周能达成协议。
Shuāngfāng zhèngzài tánpàn hézuò xìjié, yùjì xià zhōu néng dáchéng xiéyì.
Both sides are negotiating cooperation details; an agreement is expected to be reached next week.
阿曼证实美伊2/26日内瓦再谈 传德黑兰愿就核计画让步
ā 曼 zhèng shí měi yī 2 2 6 rì nèi wǎ zài tán chuán dé hēi lán yuàn jiù hé jì huà ràng bù
Oman confirmed that the United States and Iran will talk again in Geneva on 2/26 and it is rumored that Tehran is willing to make concessions on the nuclear program
抖音高管谈Seedance2.0:最近团队投入最多...
dǒu yīn gāo guǎn tán . zuì jìn tuán duì tóu rù zuì duō . . .
TikTok Executive on Seedance 2.0: The Team Has Been Investing the Most Recently...
与伊朗新一轮谈判前 美国增兵施压
yú yī lǎng xīn yī lún tán pàn qián měi guó zēng bīng shī yā
Ahead of New Round of Talks with Iran, U.S. Boosts Troop Presence to Apply Pressure
上午伊核下午俄乌,特朗普“谈判用人”引争议:派俩房..
shǎng wǔ yī hé xià wǔ é wū , tè lǎng pǔ tán pàn yòng rén yǐn zhēng yì pā liǎ fáng . .
Morning Iran, Afternoon Russia-Ukraine: Trump's "Negotiation Team" Sparks Controversy: Sending Two...
美国和伊��第二轮间接谈判17日在瑞士日内瓦开始举行
měi guó hé yī dì èr lún jiān jiē tán pàn rì zài ruì shì rì nèi wǎ kāi shǐ jǔ háng
The second round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran commenced in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 17th.
我们能私下谈谈吗？
Wǒmen néng sīxià tántán ma?
Can we talk in private?
法国年轻人也谈政治吗？
Fǎguó niánqīngrén yě tán zhèngzhì ma?
Do young French people talk about politics too?
你恳求与我谈话的原因是什么？
Nǐ kěnqiú yǔ wǒ tánhuà de yuányīn shì shénme?
What is your reason for soliciting a conversation with me?
你为什么要和汤姆谈谈？
Nǐ wèishénme yào hé Tāngmǔ tántán?
Why do you want to talk with Tom?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 讠 (speech) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 谈 (tán) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 谈 and 淡?
How many strokes does 谈 have?
What is the radical of 谈?
What are the components of 谈?
What are common words containing 谈?
What characters sound the same as 谈 (tán)?
Is 谈 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 谈 with real-time feedback
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