Chinese word

种

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhǒng

Meaning

  • measure wordkind

Example

市场上有很多种水果。shì chǎng shàng yǒu hěn duō zhǒng shuí guǒ

There are many kinds of fruit at the market.

Illustration for 种 (kind)

More examples

这是一种新的做法。zhè shì yì zhǒng xīn de zuò fǎ

This is a new way.

Core concept

A shared family pattern that lets different objects or living things count as one recognized type.

Common phrases

  • 一种方法yì zhǒng fāng fǎ

    a method

  • 很多种商品hěn duō zhǒng shāng pǐn

    many kinds of products

Similar words

个gè: Serves as a common measure word for counting people and things.
件jiàn: Counts clothing items, incidents, documents, and similar things.

Definition in Chinese

表示事物的类别或类型，用来区分不同的种类。biǎo shì shì wù de lèi bié huò lèi xíng yòng lái qū fēn bù tóng de zhǒng lèi

Word origin

种 (zhǒng, "kind") preserves the older idea of a seed or strain, so a word first linked to what grows into a plant came to mark a whole class with shared traits.

Usage tips

  • In shopping and food conversations, this word shifts attention from individual items to range, so it helps describe how varied a selection is.

Other meanings

  • plantverb

Related words

Word lists with this word