The Five Senses in Chinese 感觉
gǎnjué
The five senses in Chinese is 五种感官 (wǔ zhǒng gǎn guān).
Also searched for as: 5 senses, five senses, see hear smell, senses.
What can you see, hear, smell, taste and touch? 15 essential the five senses words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The five senses give you some of the most expressive everyday words in Chinese, from 香 (xiāng), which describes a lovely smell and also food that smells or tastes appetising, to 吵 (chǎo), noisy. The key verbs are 看见 (kàn jiàn), to see, 听见 (tīng jiàn), to hear, 闻 (wén), to smell, and 尝 (cháng), to taste. Together they let you describe food, places and situations far more vividly than with 好 (hǎo) and 不好 (bù hǎo) alone.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see |
| 听见 | tīng jiàn | to hear |
| 闻 | wén | to smell |
| 尝 | cháng | to taste |
| 摸 | mō | to touch |
| 香 | xiāng | fragrant; smells good |
| 臭 | chòu | smelly |
| 吵 | chǎo | noisy |
| 亮 | liàng | bright |
| 暗 | àn | dark |
| 软 | ruǎn | soft |
| 硬 | yìng | hard |
| 滑 | huá | slippery; smooth |
| 声音 | shēng yīn | sound; voice |
| 味道 | wèi dao | taste; smell |
Usage tips
- 看 (kàn) and 听 (tīng) are the actions of looking and listening, while 看见 (kàn jiàn) and 听见 (tīng jiàn) mean you actually saw or heard something: 我看了，但是没看见 means 'I looked, but didn't see it'.
- To say something smells nice use 香 (xiāng) or 好闻 (hǎo wén); for a bad smell use 臭 (chòu) or 难闻 (nán wén).
- Doubling a verb turns it into a friendly invitation: 你尝尝 (nǐ cháng chang), have a taste, or 你闻闻 (nǐ wén wen), have a sniff.
Common mistakes
- Learners translate 'it smells good' as 它闻起来很好; natives usually just say 好香啊 (hǎo xiāng a) or 真好闻 (zhēn hǎo wén).
- 这个有味道 (zhè ge yǒu wèi dao) often implies a bad smell, as in a fridge that needs cleaning; to praise food say 味道很好 (wèi dao hěn hǎo) or 好吃 (hǎo chī).
Mini dialogue
- A你闻闻，什么味道这么香？Nǐ wén wen, shén me wèi dao zhè me xiāng?Smell that, what smells so good?
- B我在做红烧肉，你尝尝。Wǒ zài zuò hóng shāo ròu, nǐ cháng chang.I'm making red-braised pork, have a taste.
- A好吃！肉很软。Hǎo chī! Ròu hěn ruǎn.Delicious! The meat is really tender.
- B小心，别摸锅，很烫！Xiǎo xīn, bié mō guō, hěn tàng!Careful, don't touch the wok, it's hot!
Example sentences
- 你看见我的钥匙了吗？Have you seen my keys?
- 我听见有人敲门。I heard someone knock at the door.
- 你闻闻，好香啊！Smell that, it smells great!
- 你尝尝这个。Have a taste of this.
- 别摸，很烫！Don't touch, it's hot!
- 这朵花真香。This flower smells lovely.
- 这个垃圾桶很臭。This bin stinks.
- 外面太吵了。It's too noisy outside.
- 房间很亮。The room is bright.
- 这里太暗了，看不清楚。It's too dark here, I can't see clearly.
- 这个枕头很软。This pillow is very soft.
- 这个面包太硬了。This bread is too hard.
- 下雨了，路很滑。It's rained, the road is slippery.
- 你的声音很好听。You have a lovely voice.
- 这个味道很奇怪。This tastes strange.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The The five senses speaking island has 8 everyday questions about the five senses to prepare your own answers to.