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    Chinese Grammar

    Expressing 'to browse through' with 翻阅 (fānyuè)

    Actions & Events

    Structure

    翻阅 + Written Material

    Explanation

    翻阅 (fānyuè) means "to browse through" or "to leaf through" written materials such as books, files, or archives. It implies physically turning pages and scanning content rather than reading carefully from start to finish. This verb is commonly used in written Chinese and carries a slightly formal tone.

    Examples

    • 他翻阅了大量历史资料来写这篇论文。

      Tā fānyuèle dàliàng lìshǐ zīliào lái xiě zhè piān lùnwén.

      He looked through a large amount of historical materials to write this paper.

    • 她每天早上都会翻阅几页小说。

      Tā měitiān zǎoshang dōu huì fānyuè jǐ yè xiǎoshuō.

      She reads a few pages of a novel every morning.

    • 我在图书馆翻阅旧档案时发现了这封信。

      Wǒ zài túshūguǎn fānyuè jiù dàng'àn shí fāxiànle zhè fēng xìn.

      I found this letter while looking through old files at the library.

    Expressing 'to browse through' with 翻阅 (fānyuè) | Chinese Grammar