How do you say "pessimistic" in Chinese?

悲观

bēi guān

Adjective Hanzi

In Chinese, "pessimistic" is 悲观 (bēi guān).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Pronounce bēi guān by giving it "bēi" held flat and high (first tone), then "guān" held flat and high (first tone).

Writing and usage

悲观 is written using hanzi. It's a adjective, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

她对天气感到悲观。

tā duì tiān qì gǎn dào bēi guān 。

She felt pessimistic about the weather.

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How to remember 悲观

Link the syllable "bay gwahn" to a quick mental flash of pessimistic, and "bēi guān" will stick as pessimistic.

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 悲观

How do you pronounce 悲观?

Pronounce bēi guān by giving it "bēi" held flat and high (first tone), then "guān" held flat and high (first tone).

Is 悲观 formal or casual?

悲观 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 悲观 used in Chinese?

悲观 is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: 她对天气感到悲观。 (She felt pessimistic about the weather.).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Pessimistic" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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