用 (yòng): to use, to make use of, to employ, (coverb) with, using, to need, to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions)
用 (yòng) is a Chinese character meaning “to use.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 冂 (structural). It ranks #51 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- to use
- to make use of
- to employ
- (coverb) with
- using
- to need
- to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 用 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 用
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不用adverb | bù yòng | need not | 3 |
| 利用verb | lì yòng | to exploit | 5 |
| 使用verb | shǐ yòng | to use | 4 |
| 作用noun/verb | zuò yòng | to act on | 4 |
| 信用卡noun | xìn yòng kǎ | credit card | 3 |
| 费用noun | fèi yòng | cost | 4 |
| 用来verb | yòng lái | to be used for | 4 |
| 有用adjective | yǒu yòng | useful | 3 |
| 服用verb | fú yòng | to take (medicine) | 6 |
| 运用verb | yùn yòng | to use | 5 |
| 用于verb | yòng yú | to use in | 4 |
| 用品noun | yòng pǐn | articles for use | 5 |
| 备用verb | bèi yòng | reserve | 6 |
| 采用verb | cǎi yòng | to adopt | 5 |
| 用心adjective | yòng xīn | motive | 6 |
| 用力verb | yòng lì | to exert oneself physically | 5 |
| 专用verb | zhuān yòng | special | 6 |
| 用餐verb | yòng cān | to eat a meal | 6 |
| 用户noun | yòng hù | user | 5 |
| 适用adjective | shì yòng | to be applicable | 5 |
| 用处noun | yòng chu | usefulness | 6 |
| 信用noun | xìn yòng | trustworthiness | 5 |
| 用途noun | yòng tú | use | 5 |
| 应用verb/adjective | yìng yòng | to put to use | 5 |
| 通用verb | tōng yòng | to use anywhere, anytime (card, ticket etc) | 6 |
| 实用adjective | shí yòng | to apply in practice | 5 |
| 用功verb/adjective | yòng gōng | diligent | 6 |
| 常用 | cháng yòng | in common usage | 3 |
| 食用verb | shí yòng | to eat | 5 |
| 试用verb | shì yòng | to try sth out | 5 |
| 录用verb | lù yòng | to hire (an employee) | 6 |
| 饮用水noun | yǐn yòng shuǐ | drinking water | 6 |
| 用人verb | yòng rén | servant | 6 |
| 日用品noun | rì yòng pǐn | articles for daily use | 5 |
| 用法noun | yòng fǎ | usage | 5 |
用 appears in 100 compound words: 12 as the first character, 85 as the last, and 3 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 用 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to have something ready just in case; to keep something for possible future use
to use a talented person in an insignificant position; to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut
to assess sb's capabilities and employ him accordingly (idiom); to employ sb competent for the task
to assess sb's capabilities and employ him accordingly (idiom); to employ sb competent for the task
Showing 11 of 12 idioms containing 用.
Example Sentences
这个用字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě yòng zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
This character had different meanings in classical Chinese.
索马利兰盼国际承认 愿意允美国运用矿产及军事基地
suǒ mǎ lì lán pàn guó jì chéng rèn yuàn yì yǔn měi guó yùn yòng kuàng chǎn jí jūn shì jī dì
Somaliland hopes for international recognition of its willingness to allow the United States to use minerals and military bases
索马利兰官员:愿意允美国运用矿产及军事基地
suǒ mǎ lì lán guān yuán : yuàn yì yǔn měi guó yùn yòng kuàng chǎn jí jūn shì jī dì
Somaliland official: willing to allow the United States to use minerals and military bases
用金牌当屏保,宁忠岩不过是把冷板凳坐热
yòng jīn pái dāng bǐng bǎo , nìng zhōng yán bù guò shì bǎ lěng bǎn dèng zuò rè
Using the gold medal as a screensaver, Ning Zhongyan is just sitting on the cold bench to heat up
洗面奶什么牌子好?聚焦公认好用的洗面奶年终榜TOP..
xǐ miàn nǎi shén má pái zǐ hǎo ? jù jiāo gōng rèn hǎo yòng de xǐ miàn nǎi nián zhōng bǎng T O P . .
What brand of facial cleanser is good? Focus on the year-end list of facial cleansers that are recognized as easy to use:
【城事】外滩开关式人墙再次启用,分流客流确保平台上..
chéng shì wài tān kāi guān shì rén qiáng zài cì qǐ yòng , fēn liú kè liú què bǎo píng tái shàng . .
【City Affairs】The Bund switch-type human wall is used again to divert passenger flow to ensure that the platform is ensured:
我可以用支票付吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ yòng zhīpiào fù ma?
May I pay by check?
我能用一下你的字典吗？
Wǒ néng yòng yīxià nǐ de zìdiǎn ma?
Can I use your dictionary for a minute?
读这种的书有什么用？
Dú zhèzhǒng de shū yǒu shénme yòng?
What is the good of reading such books?
你根本不开车，有车又有什么用？
Nǐ gēnběn bù kāichē, yǒu chē yòu yǒu shénme yòng?
What's the good of having a car if you don't drive?
Character Family
用 Radical Family — Characters sharing the use radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 用 (yòng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 用 have?
What is the radical of 用?
What are the components of 用?
What are common words containing 用?
What characters sound the same as 用 (yòng)?
Is 用 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 用 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.