Chinese word

整理

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhěng lǐ

Meaning

  • verbtidy up

Example

你能把房间整理一下吗？nǐ néng bǎ fáng jiān zhéng lǐ yí xià ma

Can you tidy up the room?

Illustration for 整理 (tidy up)

More examples

考试前，他把思路整理了一下。kǎo shì qián tā bǎ sī lù zhéng lǐ le yí xià

Before the exam, he organized his thoughts a little.

Core concept

Bringing scattered things or thoughts into a clear order so they can be found, understood, or used.

Common phrases

  • 把整理一下bǎ zhéng lǐ yí xià

    tidy up a little

  • 整理文件zhéng lǐ wén jiàn

    sort documents

  • 整理思路zhéng lǐ sī lù

    put one's thoughts in order

  • 整理心情zhéng lǐ xīn qíng

    sort out one's feelings

Similar words

收集shōu jí: Gather separate things or pieces of information together in one place.
排列pái liè: Arrange things in a particular order based on a chosen rule or feature.
打扫dá sǎo: Clean dust and dirt from a room, floor, or furniture.
归类guī lèi: Divide similar things or pieces of information into groups.

Definition in Chinese

把物品、资料或思路收拾归类，使秩序清楚、便于查找或使用。bǎ wù pǐn zī liào huò sī lù shōu shí guī lèi shǐ zhì xù qīng chǔ biàn yú chá zhǎo huò shǐ yòng

Word origin

The compound is built from 整 (zhěng, "make orderly") + 理 (lǐ, "order or pattern"), joining visible neatness with the idea of an underlying structure.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may expect a separate verb for a room and for information, but Chinese uses this everyday verb naturally for both, from desks and folders to notes and ideas.

Other meanings

  • organizeverb

Opposites

  • 打乱dǎ luàndisorganizeverb

Word lists with this word