报纸

• Pinyin: bào zhǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 报 (bào) — to report, newspaper; 纸 (zhǐ) — paper

Meaning

Newspaper. Refers to the physical print newspaper.

While digital news consumption has grown rapidly in China, 报纸 remains a common word. Older generations often still read print newspapers.

Examples

1. 爷爷每天早上都要看报纸。 Grandfather reads the newspaper every morning.
2. 桌子上放着一份今天的报纸。 Today's newspaper is sitting on the table.
3. 这篇文章登在昨天的报纸上。 This article was published in yesterday's newspaper.

Usage Guide

Context: daily routines, reading habits, news, media

Tone: neutral, everyday

Do Say

• 你订了哪份报纸？(Which newspaper have you subscribed to?)
• 他在看报纸。(He is reading the newspaper.)

Don't Say

• Do not use 报纸 to refer to online news — use 新闻 (news) or 新闻网站 (news website) for digital media contexts.

Origin & History

Compound of 报 (report, newspaper) and 纸 (paper). Literally 'report paper', i.e., a newspaper.

Cultural Context

Generation: Older and middle-aged generations

Social background: Universal