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Collins Chinese-English Dictionary
- 念
[niàn]
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1.
verb
[读]
read
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2.
verb
[上学]
study
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3.
verb
[想念]
miss
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4.
noun
idea
Contemporary Standard Chinese Dictionary
- 念
[niàn]
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1.
动
惦记；常常想
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想念
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怀念
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挂念
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念旧
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念念不忘。
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2.
动
考虑
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念你年幼无知，原谅这一次。
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3.
名
内心的想法或打算
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一念之差
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念头
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杂念。
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4.
动
出声读
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念单词
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念经。
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5.
动
上学
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念初中。
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6.
数
数字"廿"的大写。
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7.
上边是"今"，不是"令"。
Examples
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孩子们把这首诗念了又念，现在都能琅琅上口了。
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The children have read the poem several times, and can all recite it quite fluently now.
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这两句念起来拗口。
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These two lines do not read smoothly.
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念博士
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study (or read) for a doctorate
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念博士学位
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study (or read) for a doctorate
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念诵诗文
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read aloud poems and essays
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普通话中的“了、着、的”等虚词和做后缀的“子、头”等字都念轻声。
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In putonghua, particles like le, zhe, and de and suffixes like zi and tou are all in the neutral tone (or are all toneless).
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稿子经过这样一改，念起来就顺口多了。
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After being touched up, the essay reads more smoothly.
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他念了一句“波罗蜜”，就离开了。
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He muttered “sanckrit” and left.
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念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下。
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Thinking about the vast lonely world, tears fell in sorrow.
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nciku Note
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读 vs. 念
dú vs. niàn
The two verbs are interchangeable in certain situations; in other situations, they are used differently.
1. To mean “ read aloud”, either 读or 念 can be used, but the latter is more casual.
(1) 请你把这篇课文读一遍。
(2) 他把短信念给我听。
Since the two words are different in terms of dated and modern speech, 读is used in 读诗班（"a choir"）, and 念 is used in 和尚念经("monks reciting or chanting scriptures").（读经 is a set phrase meaning “reading old classics”）.
2. To mean “read and comprehend”, 读 is used but not 念.
(1) 他的所有著作我都读过。
(2) 这本书值得一读。
(3) 我们的外语老师想着重提高我们听、说、读、写四个方面的能力。
3. Either can be used to mean “go to school”, but 念 is more informal.
(1) 等你念（读）完大学，就该步入社会了。
(2) 她女儿现在正在读（念）小学。
这两个动词有几个意义，互有分和。
1.表示看着文字发出声音，“读”和“念”都可以，后者更口语化一些。
由于文化程度不同，“读诗班”习惯用“读”，“和尚念经”习惯用“念”（“读经”另有意义，表示阅读古代经书）。
2.表示阅读，用“读”不用“念”。
3.表示上学，两个词都可以，“念”更口语化。
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