信件 xìnjiàn letter (sent by mail)
How to remember 信件: 信 letter + 件 measure word for clothes and items = letter (sent by mail).
Characters
How it is used
- The formal cover term for letters/mail as items - 处理信件 (chǔlǐ xìnjiàn) to handle correspondence.
- More formal and collective than 信 (xìn, a letter); 信件 suits official or written contexts (往来信件, correspondence).
- Measure word 封 for individual letters (一封信); 信件 itself is often used uncountably for mail in general.
Example sentences
- 他扔了很多旧信件。 Tā rēng le hěnduō jiù xìnjiàn.He threw away a bunch of old letters.
- 这位母亲偶尔会重温她的儿子的信件。 Zhèwèi mǔqīn ǒuěr huì chóngwēn tā de érzi de xìnjiàn.The mother occasionally reread her son's letter.