10 Things you can 点 in Chinese

A note about 点

After looking in any respectable dictionary you quickly become aware that 点can mean, well, just about anything. However some of the more common meanings include: drop, spot, point, dot, a little and selec. Hopefully the following list will help you to understand the essence that is 点.

The 点 list

1.点菜
Super useful in any restaurant in China. Here 点 takes on the meaning of choose or selec while 菜 in this context means dish or course. So yell the waiter over and 点 some 菜 from the 菜单 (menu).

2.点饥
We don’t think this is particularly common but we had to include because we just loved it and it goes well with number 1. 饥 means hungry or famished so if you 点the 饥 you snack to stave off hunger!

3.点货
If you worked in a factory or a warehouse you might use this. 货 means goods, so if you 点 the goods then you check them.

4. 点击
With exactly the same tones as number 2 and 击 meaning assault or hit this may be a little misleading since 点击 actually means to press or click specifically in reference to computing. So if used in relation to a keyboard then is means press or strike the key, if used in relation to a webpage then it usually means click (a link). No assaulting your keyboards please!

5.点火
火, meaning fire, is a character most learn early on since its a basic word and a relatively simple character. If you 点 the 火 then you light the fire or ignite something. Make sure you get your tones right though otherwise it may sound like number 3 on this list.

6.点清
You see this in most Chinese banks at the counter. Any ideas? 清 is from 清楚which means clear or distinct. So if 点 means check like in number 3 then you check to see if its clear. Is that 清楚? No? It means to count accurately. So the sign at the bank might read: 钱请当面点清 – Please count your money before you leave.

7.点头
So you may well know the character 头. Any ideas what 点‘ing your 头 might mean? You got it – nod your head. Interestingly can also be used abstractly in the sense of giving something the go ahead or okaying something.

8.点心

This one is pretty common too. You have probably heard of Dim Sum, which is a Cantonese expression for the light refreshments or pastries that many in Hong Kong and China like to enjoy. 点心 is the Mandarin word for it.

9。点钟
Another one you’ll need to know. 钟 means bell or clock and used with 点 it means o’clock. So to say the time you put the hour before it. For example one o’clock would be 一点钟. Also, to ask the time in Chinese you literally ask ‘How many o’clock?’ or 几点钟? Or lose the 钟 and just ask 几点?

10.点名
This would be used in school as it can mean call the roll or roll call, 名 meaning name. It can also mean to mention somebody by name.