东西 (dōngxī) means Thing. Below are 24 of the 30 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
你想买什么 东西 ？
Nǐ xiǎng mǎi shénme dōngxi?
What things do you want to buy?
Dictionary example · HSK 1 · 东西
别人的 东西 不能拿。
Biéren de dōngxi bù néng ná.
You mustn't take other people's things.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 别人
我去超市买点儿 东西 。
Wǒ qù chāoshì mǎi diǎnr dōngxi.
I'm going to the supermarket to buy a few things.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 超市
我饿了，想吃点儿 东西 。
Wǒ è le, xiǎng chī diǎnr dōngxi.
I'm hungry and want to eat something.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 饿
我不喜欢吃太甜的 东西 。
Wǒ bù xǐhuan chī tài tián de dōngxi.
I don't like eating things that are too sweet.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 甜
这家超市很近，而且 东西 很便宜。
Zhè jiā chāoshì hěn jìn, érqiě dōngxi hěn piányi.
This supermarket is close, and the goods are cheap too.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 而且
From the graded readers
我们准备了很多吃的 东西 。
wǒmen zhǔnbèi le / liǎo / liào hěnduō chī de / dì dōngxī.
We got a lot of food ready.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · A Rainy Day
朋友说我太舍不得 东西 了。
péngyou shuō wǒ tài shě / shè bùdé dōngxī le / liǎo / liào.
My friend says I'm too attached to things.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Moving House
有些 东西 ，发消息是给不了的。
yǒuxiē dōngxī, fā xiāoxi shì gěi bùliǎo de / dì.
There are some things a message simply cannot give you.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · A Letter From Grandmother
我说：“四年就这么点儿 东西 ？”
wǒ shuō:" sìnián jiù zhème diǎn ér dōngxī?"
I said, "Four years and that's all you've got?"
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Saying Goodbye
小白很喜欢睡觉，也很喜欢吃 东西 。
xiǎo bái hěn xǐhuan shuìjiào, yě hěn xǐhuan chī dōngxī.
Xiaobai loves sleeping, and loves eating too.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · My Family
星期天我们一起去买 东西 ，一起吃饭。
xīngqītīan wǒmen yìqǐ qù mǎi dōngxī, yìqǐ chīfàn.
On Sundays we go shopping and eat together.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · My Friend Lili
星期六下午，妈妈让我去超市买 东西 。
xīngqīliù xiàwǔ, māma ràng wǒ qù chāo shì mǎi dōngxī.
On Saturday afternoon mum asked me to go to the supermarket.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · At the Supermarket
她给了我一张纸，上面写着五样 东西 。
tā gěile wǒ yī zhāng zhǐ, shàngmian xiězhe wǔ yàng dōngxī.
She gave me a piece of paper with five things written on it.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · At the Supermarket
超市里的 东西 很多，我找了很长时间。
chāo shì lǐ de / dì dōngxī hěnduō, wǒ zhǎo le / liǎo / liào hěn cháng / zhǎng shíjiān.
There was so much in the shop that it took me ages to find things.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · At the Supermarket
那个声音又重又慢，像有人在搬 东西 。
nèigè shēngyīn yòu zhòng / chóng yòu màn, xiàng yǒurén zài bān dōngxī.
It was heavy and slow, like someone moving furniture.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · The Neighbour Upstairs
她笑着说：“重要的 东西 都带不走。”
tā xiào zhāo / zhaó / zhe / zhù / zhuó shuō:" zhòngyào de / dì dōngxī dōu dài bù zǒu."
She smiled and said, "The things that matter can't be packed."
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Saying Goodbye
最难的不是搬，而是决定什么 东西 要扔。
zuì nán de / dì búshì bān, érshì juédìng shénme dōngxī yāo rēng.
The hard part wasn't the carrying — it was deciding what to throw away.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Moving House
原来那个声音不是搬 东西 ，是他的拐杖。
yuánlái nèigè shēngyīn búshì bān dōngxī, shì tāde guǎi zhàng.
So the noise wasn't furniture at all — it was his walking stick.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · The Neighbour Upstairs
From the travel phrasebook
有没有 东西 要申报？
Yǒu méiyǒu dōngxi yào shēnbào?
Do you have anything to declare?
Travel phrasebook · Airport and immigration
我 东西 忘在车上了。
Wǒ dōngxi wàng zài chē shang le.
I left something in the car.
Travel phrasebook · Taxis and ride-hailing
我 东西 忘在房间里了。
Wǒ dōngxi wàng zài fángjiān lǐ le.
I left something in the room.
Travel phrasebook · Hotel check-in
东西 appears in 30 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
Questions about 东西
How is 东西 used in a sentence?
This page shows 30 sentences using 东西 (dōngxī, "Thing"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Is 东西 an HSK word?
Yes — 东西 is on the official HSK 1 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 1 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 东西?
The dictionary page for 东西 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 东西, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 1 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
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