教练jiào liàninstructor; sports coach; trainer
教练 (jiào liàn) means "instructor," "sports coach," or "trainer." It names the person who teaches a skill such as swimming, driving, or a sport, as in 游泳教练 (swimming coach). As a verb it can also mean "to coach" or "to train," though the noun use is the one learners meet first.
What does 教练 mean?
- 1.
instructor; sports coach; trainernoun
- 2.
to coach; to trainverb
What do the characters in 教练 mean?
- 教(bound form) to teach; to instruct
- 练to train
How do you use 教练?
教练 often counts with 位 when said politely, as in 一位教练; it can follow the skill being taught, as in 游泳教练.
Patterns
skill + 教练
他是一位游泳教练。
Tā shì yí wèi yóuyǒng jiàoliàn.
He is a swimming coach.
What are some examples of 教练 in a sentence?
How is 教练 used in a conversation?
- Speaker A:
你的游泳教练怎么样？
Nǐ de yóuyǒng jiàoliàn zěnmeyàng?
How is your swimming coach?
- Speaker B:
她很好，教得很清楚。
Tā hěn hǎo, jiāo de hěn qīngchu.
She's very good; she explains things clearly.
- Speaker A:
她教了你多长时间？
Tā jiāo le nǐ duō cháng shíjiān?
How long has she been teaching you?
- Speaker B:
三个月了，现在我能游一百米。
Sān ge yuè le, xiànzài wǒ néng yóu yìbǎi mǐ.
Three months now; I can swim a hundred meters now.
What should you learn next?
- Free HSK 3 level testSee which HSK 3.0 level your vocabulary matches.
- HSK 4 word listEvery word at this level, with examples.
- HSK 3.0 guideHow the nine levels and three bands work.
Related words
- 教授jiào shòuprofessorHSK 4
- 练习liàn xíto practiceHSK 3
- 教jiāoto teach; to instructHSK 2
- 一生yì shēngall one's life; throughout one's lifeHSK 4
- 专业zhuān yèspecialty; specialized field; main field of study (at university); majorHSK 4
- 主意zhǔ yiideaHSK 4
Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.
English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.