事情

• Pinyin: shì qing
• Hanzi breakdown: 事 = hand holding a writing instrument, meaning 'affair/thing'; 情 = 忄(heart) + 青 (green/blue, phonetic), meaning 'feeling/situation'

Meaning

Thing; matter; affair. An event, task, or issue that concerns someone.

One of the most common nouns in Chinese, covering events, tasks, incidents, and issues. Differs from 东西 (physical object). Often used with measure word 件: 一件事情. Can be shortened to 事 in casual speech. Appears in many daily expressions like 没事 (it's nothing) and 有事 (something came up).

Examples

1. 我有一件事情想告诉你。 I have something I want to tell you.
2. 这件事情很重要。 This matter is very important.
3. 别担心，事情会好起来的。 Don't worry, things will get better.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday conversation, work, personal matters

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你在忙什么事情？(What are you busy with?)
• 昨天发生了一件有趣的事情。(An interesting thing happened yesterday.)

Don't Say

• 不要把事情和东西混淆 (Don't confuse 事情 with 东西 — 事情 refers to matters, events, or tasks, while 东西 refers to physical objects)

Origin & History

事 (shì, affair/matter) + 情 (qíng, feeling/situation). Literally 'the state of an affair,' covering the full scope of a matter or event.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal