n.
computer
电脑
Common Usage & Traps
- 用电脑 — use a computer
- 玩电脑 — play games / waste time on the computer
- 一台电脑 — one computer
- 开电脑 — turn the computer on
- 电脑坏了 — the computer died on me
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一个电脑一台电脑个 is the lazy default counter for people and vague stuff. Anything that sits on a desk as one solid unit takes 台.
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电脑破了电脑坏了破 means torn or split open — paper, bags, balloons. A machine that stops working is 坏, never 破.
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在电脑写邮件在电脑上写邮件You do things on a computer, so that 上 is not optional. Dropping it sounds like you are typing inside the case.
Why does 一个电脑 sound wrong when 个 seems to work everywhere else?
One computer is 一台电脑. Save 个 for people and fuzzy stuff.
个 is the beginner default, so learners glue it onto everything and get away with it for a while. Then they hit machines, and natives wince. 台 was originally a word for a stand or platform, and that feeling stuck. Anything that stands on a desk or floor as one unit takes 台: computers, TVs, fans, air conditioners, washing machines. Nobody is confused about what you mean, they just hear a textbook that never got corrected.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| A single computer | 一台电脑 | 一个电脑 |
| Two machines at home | 家里有两台电脑 | 家里有两个电脑 |
| A person | 一个人 | 一台人 |
Why do 电脑, 电话 and 电视 all start with 电, and what is the 脑 doing in there?
电 means electric; the second character is the human job the machine replaces.
电 just flags it as electric, so it tells you almost nothing on its own. The real meaning sits in the second character. 电脑 is an electric brain, 电话 is electric speech, 电视 is electric vision, 电影 is an electric shadow. Chinese names gadgets after the human function they copy, not after their shape. That is why 电脑 and 电话 are cousins, not the same word, and why the second character is the only part worth memorising. “超市非常小，电脑没脑子，电话不能打。” (The supermarket is very small, computers have no brain, and the phone can't make calls.) ── [《电脑没脑子》](/read/computers-have-no-brains#s2)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| The box on your desk | 电脑 | 电话 |
| The thing you hold to your ear | 电话 | 电脑 |
| The screen in the living room | 电视 | 电脑 |
Do your files live 在电脑里 or 在电脑上?
Stored things sit 在电脑里. Actions happen 在电脑上.
Treat the computer as a box you keep things inside. Files, photos, downloads and saved drafts are all 在电脑里, because they live in the storage. What you actually do with the machine happens on its surface, so it is 在电脑上看电影 and 在电脑上写邮件. Mix them up and you either sound like the file is glued to the screen or like you are crawling inside the case to work.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday's photos | 照片在电脑里 | 照片在电脑上 |
| Writing an email | 在电脑上写邮件 | 在电脑里写邮件 |
| Watching a show | 在电脑上看电影 | 在电脑里看电影 |
Appears in Stories 3 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
This short, soothing piece is about missing someone on a rainy night. The sentences are simple and repeat often, so you can practice reading while feeling the warm emotion.
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我看着 电脑 ，写下了几个字：小雨，我想你。
Follow a day from waking at six-thirty to coming home at eight, then leap across days, months, and years. This simple story helps you practice speaking about routines and life changes with clear time words.
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去年买了新 电脑 。
This playful poem will make you smile as you explore how Chinese words like 'computer' and 'phone' can be funnier than they seem. Get ready to enjoy simple HSK 1 vocabulary and a twist of logic!
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超市非常小， 电脑 没脑子，电话不能打。
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