alternate words for television?

meir
 October 11, 2010, 01:57 AM posted in General Discussion

I come across the word television as both 电视(diànshì) and 电视机(diànshìjī ) is there a difference in meaning between the two? Why is it used both ways ? Is it similar to saying t.v. and television in English? Is one better to use than the other?

Profile picture
johnb
 October 11, 2010, 06:22 AM

Hi meir,

电视 is 'television' in general, whereas 电视机 is 'television set' specifically. If you're talking about the machine itself, you should use 电视机 (i.e., 电视机坏了), but otherwise you should use 电视.

Profile picture
meir
 October 12, 2010, 01:17 AM

So , if I want to talk about what is on "television " tonight, I would use 电视? and if I wanted to say my television set is not working properly I would use 电视机?

 

Profile picture
lujiaojie

Yes, if you want to talk about what is on "television " tonight, you can use 电视. If you wanted to say your television set is not working, 电视 and 电视机 are both OK.

我想看电视。Wǒ xiǎng kàn diànshì.

今天有什么电视节目。Jīntiān yǒu shénme diànshì jiémù.

我的电视机（电视）坏了。Wǒ de diànshìjī（diànshì）huài le.

我想买电视机（电视）。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi diànshìjī （diànshì）.

Profile picture
meir

Thank you, John and Lujiaojie.