practice skills; train
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to practice one's skills (on something); to do something as practice or warm-up
Often used when doing something simple or preliminary to prepare for more complex tasks. Can take the erhua suffix '儿' (练手儿).
Chū初
xué学
cái裁
feng缝
，
xiān先
zuò做
diǎn点
xiǎo儿
hái小
ér孩
yī儿
fu衣
liàn服
lian练
shǒu练
手
。
When first learning tailoring, make some children's clothes first to practice.
Wǒ我
gāng刚
xué学
zuò做
fàn饭
，
xiān先
ná拿
jiǎn简
dān单
de的
cài菜
liàn练
lian练
shǒu手
。
I just started learning to cook, so I'll practice with some simple dishes first.
Show 2 more examplesShow fewer examples
Zhè这
shì是
tā他
dì第
yī一
cì次
shàng上
tái台
yǎn演
jiǎng讲
，
ná拿
zhè这
cì次
bǐ比
sài赛
liàn练
lian练
shǒu手
yě也
hǎo好
。
This is his first time giving a speech on stage, so it's good to use this competition as practice.
Nǐ你
xiān先
ná拿
zhè这
xiē些
fèi废
liào料
liàn练
lian练
shǒu手
，
shú熟
liàn练
le了
zài再
zuò做
zhèng正
shì式
de的
。
Practice with these scrap materials first, and make the formal ones after you get proficient.