练 (liàn) · to practice; to train

Meanings

1 to practice; to train

Characters

练

liàn

to practice; to train

Examples

HSK 2

我每天练汉字。

Wǒ měitiān liàn Hànzì.

I practice Chinese characters every day.

HSK 2

多练就会了。

Duō liàn jiù huì le.

Practice more and you'll get it.

HSK 2

她每天练一个小时的字。

Tā měitiān liàn yí gè xiǎoshí de zì.

She practices writing characters for an hour every day.

Tips

usage

练 is for developing skills through repetition: 练字 (practice writing), 练琴 (practice piano), 练口语 (practice speaking). The related word 训练 (xùnliàn) means formal training.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk thread (radical form)

Left silk radical - the indexing component. Original 練 meant 'to refine raw silk by repeated boiling and softening' over and over. From this literal craft came the abstract sense of refining a skill through repetition. A perfect etymology for the act of practice; same radical in 织 weave, 红 red, 线 thread.

phonetic

东 dōng

east (graphic substitute)

Right side is a 5-stroke contracted form derived from cursive shorthand of the traditional 柬 (jiǎn) phonetic - visually shaped like 东 but functioning as a stylised placeholder, not the standalone 9-stroke 柬. The phonetic link is opaque in modern Mandarin (jiǎn → liàn); treat the right side as a written placeholder rather than a literal sound clue.