v.
To move through the air with wings, as birds do. To fly by aircraft; to speed, dart, or spread quickly through the air. The character resembles a soaring bird with its wing strokes rising upward (like 升).
飞
Common Usage & Traps
- 飞得高 — fly high
- 飞走 — fly away
- 飞到北京 — fly to Beijing
- 飞机在飞 — the plane is flying
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飞飞机开飞机 / 坐飞机English 'fly a plane' does not map directly. 开飞机 means pilot it; 坐飞机 means ride as a passenger.
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坐飞机飞坐飞机坐飞机 already means travel by plane. Adding 飞 repeats the same idea.
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飞很高飞得很高To describe how high something flies, put 得 after 飞: 飞得很高. 飞很高 sounds like two ideas smashed together.
Why does 'fly a plane' not become 飞飞机 in Chinese?
Chinese doesn't say 飞飞机; use 开飞机 to pilot, 坐飞机 to ride.
English lets 'fly' sit right before 'plane'. Chinese instead asks what you do with the plane. If you pilot it, say 开飞机. If you are a passenger, say 坐飞机. 飞飞机 sounds like you are flapping the plane with your own wings.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot a plane | 开飞机 | 飞飞机 |
| Take a plane | 坐飞机 | 飞飞机 |
| Plane is flying | 飞机在飞 | 飞飞机 |
| Fly to Beijing as passenger | 坐飞机去北京 | 飞飞机去北京 |
Can you just say 飞机飞 for 'planes fly'?
You can say it, but it sounds like a flashcard; real talk adds 在 or 会.
A bare 飞机飞 is understandable, but Chinese usually adds a helper. 飞机在飞 means the plane is flying right now. 飞机会飞 means planes can fly. The story line uses 飞机真会飞 to state that simple fact. “手机在手中，飞机真会飞。” (The phone is in your hand, and planes really can fly.) ── [《电脑没脑子》](/read/computers-have-no-brains#s1)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Plane is flying now | 飞机在飞 | 飞机飞 |
| Planes can fly | 飞机会飞 | 飞机飞 |
| Emphatic fact | 飞机真会飞 | 飞机真飞 |
Why do you say 飞得高 instead of 飞很高?
Chinese puts 得 after 飞 to describe how the flying is done.
If you just say 飞很高, it sounds like 'fly' and 'very tall' are crashing together. The pattern is action + 得 + description: 飞得高, 飞得快, 飞得远. For 'very high', say 飞得很高.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Fly high | 飞得高 | 飞很高 |
| Fly very high | 飞得很高 | 飞很高 |
| Fly fast | 飞得快 | 飞很快 |
| Fly far | 飞得远 | 飞很远 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
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!
- Scene #1
手机在手中，飞机真会 飞 。
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