聊天儿 liáotiānr to chat (spoken, erhua)
How to remember 聊天儿: 聊 chat + 天 day + 儿 son = to chat (spoken, erhua).
Characters
How it is used
- The erhua (northern) form of 聊天 (liáotiān) - to chat/make small talk: 我们聊天儿吧 (wǒmen liáotiānr ba) let's chat.
- Verb-object, so it splits: 聊了半天天儿 or simply 聊了很久 (liáo le hěn jiǔ) chatted a long while. The 儿 is a Beijing-flavored ending; southern speakers drop it to 聊天.
- It's casual conversation for its own sake, distinct from 谈 (tán), which implies discussing something serious.
Example sentences
- 晚饭后我们坐在外面聊天儿。 Wǎnfàn hòu wǒmen zuò zài wàimiàn liáotiānr.After dinner we sit outside and chat.