diànchí: 电池 - Battery

• Keywords: battery in Chinese, dianchi, 电池, phone battery, electric car battery, rechargeable battery, Chinese for battery, low battery Chinese, charge battery Chinese, 充电 (chōngdiàn), 没电了 (méi diàn le).
• Summary: Learn the essential Chinese word for “battery,” 电池 (diànchí). This guide breaks down the term's simple, logical characters (“electricity pool”) and explores its massive importance in modern China, from the “low battery anxiety” driving the shared power bank industry to the nation's dominance in electric vehicle (EV) technology. You'll master practical phrases like how to say your phone is out of battery, ask for a charger, and discuss different battery types, all with clear examples optimized for a beginner learner.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): diànchí
• Part of Speech: Noun
• HSK Level: HSK 3
• Concise Definition: A device that stores and provides electricity; a battery.
• In a Nutshell: 电池 (diànchí) is the universal word for any type of battery in Chinese. It's a highly logical word formed by combining “electricity” and “pool.” Think of a battery as a small “pool of electricity” that powers your devices. From the tiny battery in your watch to the massive one in an electric car, this is the word you need.

• 电 (diàn): Electricity, electric. This character's origin is related to lightning. It's the foundational character for almost all electrical concepts in Chinese, like computer (电脑, diànnǎo - electric brain) and telephone (电话, diànhuà - electric speech).
• 池 (chí): Pool, pond. This character features the water radical (氵) on the left, indicating a body of liquid. It refers to a contained area of something, like a swimming pool (游泳池, yóuyǒngchí).
• Together, 电池 (diànchí) literally translates to an “electricity pool.” This beautifully descriptive and intuitive construction makes the word easy to remember: it's a container that holds electricity.

While a “battery” might seem like a purely technical term, its role in modern Chinese society is immense and reveals key cultural trends.

• Low Battery Anxiety (电量焦虑 - diànliàng jiāolǜ): In a hyper-connected society where mobile payments (like WeChat Pay and Alipay) are king, a dead phone is more than an inconvenience—it can leave you unable to pay for dinner, take the subway, or even enter your apartment building. This has led to a widespread social phenomenon known as “low battery anxiety.” The constant need for power has fueled the massive industry of shared power banks (共享充电宝 - gòngxiǎng chōngdiàn bǎo), which are available to rent in nearly every restaurant, mall, and train station.
• Technological Self-Sufficiency and Dominance: On a national scale, 电池 (diànchí) represents China's technological ambition. The country is the world's largest producer of electric vehicles (EVs) and the lithium-ion batteries that power them. Companies like CATL (宁德时代 - Níngdé Shídài) and BYD (比亚迪 - Bǐyàdí) are global giants. For many in China, 电池 technology is a point of national pride and a symbol of the country's shift from a manufacturing hub to a tech innovator.
• Linguistic Comparison: The term 电池 (diànchí) itself highlights a difference between Chinese and English vocabulary creation. While the English “battery” has an abstract military origin (a group of cannons), the Chinese term is descriptive and compositional (“electricity pool”). This concrete, modular nature is common in modern Chinese technical vocabulary.

电池 is a high-frequency word used in many daily situations.

• Everyday Conversation: The most common use is talking about personal electronics. You'll constantly hear phrases like “My phone is out of battery” (我手机没电了 - wǒ shǒujī méi diàn le) or “I need to charge the battery” (我要充电了 - wǒ yào chōngdiàn le).
• Buying and Replacing Batteries: When you need to buy disposable batteries for a remote control or a toy, you'll ask for 电池. It's helpful to know the specific types, like 5号电池 (wǔ hào diànchí) for AA batteries or 7号电池 (qī hào diànchí) for AAA batteries.
• Technical and Automotive Contexts: In discussions about technology, especially electric cars (电动汽车 - diàndòng qìchē), 电池 is a central topic. People will discuss 电池续航 (diànchí xùháng), or battery life/range, and 电池技术 (diànchí jìshù), battery technology.

• Example 1:
  • 我的手机电池没电了，我需要充电。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ de shǒujī diànchí méi diàn le, wǒ xūyào chōngdiàn.
  • English: My phone's battery is dead, I need to charge it.
  • Analysis: This is perhaps the most common phrase using 电池. Note the common pattern: “没电了” (méi diàn le) literally means “has no electricity left.” It's the standard way to say something is out of battery.
• Example 2:
  • 请问，哪里可以买到7号电池？
  • Pinyin: Qǐngwèn, nǎlǐ kěyǐ mǎi dào qī hào diànchí?
  • English: Excuse me, where can I buy AAA batteries?
  • Analysis: This shows a practical use case. In China, batteries are sized by number. “7号” (qī hào) means “Number 7,” which corresponds to AAA batteries. AA batteries are “5号” (wǔ hào).
• Example 3:
  • 这辆电动汽车的电池续航是500公里。
  • Pinyin: Zhè liàng diàndòng qìchē de diànchí xùháng shì wǔbǎi gōnglǐ.
  • English: This electric car's battery range is 500 kilometers.
  • Analysis: “续航” (xùháng) means “endurance” or “range.” The phrase 电池续航 (diànchí xùháng) is standard for discussing the battery life of cars, laptops, and phones.
• Example 4:
  • 为了环保，我们应该多使用充电电池。
  • Pinyin: Wèile huánbǎo, wǒmen yīnggāi duō shǐyòng chōngdiàn diànchí.
  • English: For the sake of the environment, we should use rechargeable batteries more often.
  • Analysis: “充电” (chōngdiàn) means “to charge.” Adding it before 电池 creates the specific term for a “rechargeable battery.”
• Example 5:
  • 这个遥控器需要换电池了，已经不灵敏了。
  • Pinyin: Zhège yáokòngqì xūyào huàn diànchí le, yǐjīng bù língmǐn le.
  • English: This remote control needs a new battery, it's not sensitive anymore.
  • Analysis: “换” (huàn) means “to change” or “to replace.” “换电池” (huàn diànchí) is the set phrase for “to change the battery.”
• Example 6:
  • 笔记本电脑的电池寿命一般是三到五年。
  • Pinyin: Bǐjìběn diànnǎo de diànchí shòumìng yībān shì sān dào wǔ nián.
  • English: A laptop battery's lifespan is generally three to five years.
  • Analysis: “寿命” (shòumìng) means “lifespan.” This is used to talk about the long-term health of a battery, as opposed to its daily charge (续航, xùháng).
• Example 7:
  • 如果长时间不使用设备，最好把电池取出来。
  • Pinyin: Rúguǒ cháng shíjiān bù shǐyòng shèbèi, zuìhǎo bǎ diànchí qǔ chūlái.
  • English: If you don't use the device for a long time, it's best to take the battery out.
  • Analysis: This sentence uses the “把” (bǎ) structure to talk about physically handling the battery. “取出来” (qǔ chūlái) means “to take out.”
• Example 8:
  • 我的手机电池电量只剩下百分之十了。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ de shǒujī diànchí diànliàng zhǐ shèngxià bǎifēnzhī shí le.
  • English: My phone's battery level is only at ten percent.
  • Analysis: “电量” (diànliàng) specifically means “electric quantity” or “battery level.” This is more precise than just saying “没电了.”
• Example 9:
  • 中国在锂电池技术方面处于世界领先地位。
  • Pinyin: Zhōngguó zài lǐ diànchí jìshù fāngmiàn chǔyú shìjiè lǐngxiān dìwèi.
  • English: China is in a world-leading position regarding lithium battery technology.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates how to specify a type of battery. “锂” (lǐ) is the character for Lithium. You can prefix different materials to 电池 to be more specific.
• Example 10:
  • 这个玩具不包含电池，需要单独购买。
  • Pinyin: Zhège wánjù bù bāohán diànchí, xūyào dāndú gòumǎi.
  • English: This toy does not include batteries; they need to be purchased separately.
  • Analysis: “包含” (bāohán) means “to include/contain.” This is a very common phrase you'll see on product packaging.

• Mistake 1: Confusing the battery (电池) with its charge (电).
  • A very common and natural way to say “My phone is out of battery” is “我手机没电了” (Wǒ shǒujī méi diàn le). This literally means “My phone has no electricity.”
  • Incorrect/Unnatural: “我手机没电池了” (Wǒ shǒujī méi diànchí le). This sounds like the physical battery is missing from your phone, that you've lost it or removed it.
  • Rule of Thumb: Use 电 (diàn) when talking about the *charge* or *power level*. Use 电池 (diànchí) when talking about the *physical object* itself (e.g., its health, size, or type).
• Mistake 2: Using 电池 for a military battery.
  • In English, “battery” can refer to an artillery emplacement. This meaning does not transfer to Chinese. 电池 (diànchí) is used exclusively for electrochemical batteries. The military unit is called a 炮兵连 (pàobīnglián).

• 充电 (chōngdiàn) - To charge. The verb form of what a 电池 needs. Literally “to fill with electricity.”
• 充电器 (chōngdiànqì) - Charger. The device (器, qì) used to 充电.
• 充电宝 (chōngdiàn bǎo) - Power bank / portable charger. The indispensable “charging treasure” (宝, bǎo) for modern life in China.
• 没电了 (méi diàn le) - Out of power. The state of a 电池 that needs charging. The most common phrase to express a dead battery.
• 电源 (diànyuán) - Power source / power supply. A broader term that can refer to an electrical outlet or the power supply unit in a computer, not just a battery.
• 电量 (diànliàng) - Battery level / electric quantity. Used to talk about the percentage of charge remaining.
• 干电池 (gāndiànchí) - Dry-cell battery. The term for disposable, non-rechargeable batteries (like AA, AAA).
• 蓄电池 (xùdiànchí) - Storage battery / accumulator. A more technical term, often used for rechargeable batteries in vehicles or industrial applications.
• 锂电池 (lǐdiànchí) - Lithium battery. A specific type of battery, very common in modern electronics.