Chinese word

聊天儿

Pronunciation

Pinyinliáo tiānr

Meaning

  • verbchat

Example

我们晚上一起聊天儿吧。wǒ men wǎn shàng yì qǐ liáo tiānr ba

Let's chat together this evening.

Illustration for 聊天儿 (chat)

More examples

我常和同事聊天儿，分享工作经验。wǒ cháng hé tóng shì liáo tiānr fēn xiǎng gōng zuò jīng yàn

I often chat with my coworkers and share work experience.

Core concept

A relaxed exchange that lets conversation wander without a formal purpose.

Common phrases

  • 跟同事聊天儿gēn tóng shì liáo tiānr

    chat with colleagues

  • 在群里聊天儿zài qún lǐ liáo tiānr

    chat in a group

  • 和家人聊天儿hé jiā rén liáo tiānr

    chat with family

Similar words

聊天liáo tiān: Chat socially with friends or acquaintances about ordinary matters.
闲聊xián liáo: Talk casually for fun or to fill spare time, without a set aim.
交谈jiāo tán: Speak with others to share information and exchange views.
谈论tán lùn: Discuss a subject by stating opinions and giving reasons.

Definition in Chinese

口语中表示用轻松方式交谈的动作或行为，常用于朋友间的闲聊，也可泛指在网上或电话里互相谈天说地的交流。kóu yǔ zhōng biǎo shì yòng qīng sōng fāng shì jiāo tán de dòng zuò huò xíng wéi cháng yòng yú péng yǒu jiān de xián liáo yě kě fàn zhǐ zài wǎng shàng huò diàn huà lǐ hù xiāng tán tiān shuō dì de jiāo liú

Word origin

聊天儿 (liáotiānér, "chat") is a colloquial compound of 聊 (liáo, "chat") and 天 (tiān, "sky"), with the final erhua ending adding a northern spoken flavor rather than a separate meaning.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may expect chat to mean either a brief talk or an internet message, but this Chinese verb covers relaxed conversation in person, by phone, or through the internet.

Other meanings

  • make small talkverb
  • chat onlineverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 聊天liáo tiānchatverb
  • 聊天群liáo tiān qúngroup chatnoun
  • 聊天机器人liáo tiān jī qì rénchatbotnoun

Word lists with this word