认识

• Pinyin: rèn shi
• Hanzi breakdown: 认 = 讠(speech) + 人 (person); 识 = 讠(speech) + 只 (phonetic), both relating to recognising through interaction

Meaning

To know; to recognise; to be acquainted with. Used for knowing people or recognising characters.

Has two main uses: knowing or being acquainted with a person, and being able to recognise something such as Chinese characters. Different from 知道 (to know a fact). The phrase 认识你很高兴 (nice to meet you) is a very common greeting when meeting someone new.

Examples

1. 你认识他吗？ Do you know him?
2. 我们在学校认识的。 We met at school.
3. 我认识这个字。 I recognise this character.

Usage Guide

Context: social, everyday

Tone: friendly

Do Say

• 认识你很高兴。(Nice to meet you.)
• 我不认识这个字。(I don't recognise this character.)

Don't Say

• 我认识他的名字。(Slightly off — use 知道 for knowing a name as a fact: 我知道他的名字; use 认识 for knowing the person)

Origin & History

A compound of 认 (to recognise/acknowledge) and 识 (to know/recognise), both reinforcing the idea of recognition and familiarity.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal