Mandarin TempleMandarin Temple Beta Come for Knowledge. Stay for Wisdom.
Start your Chinese Learning JourneyStart Now
教训 — pronunciations, definitions, and tags
HanziPinyinEnglishTags
教训jiàoxùnlessonHSK 6, vn, 16 strokes, rank #2159, Hard
教训jiàoxùnmoralHSK 6, vn, 16 strokes, rank #2159, Hard
教训jiàoxùnto chide sbHSK 6, vn, 16 strokes, rank #2159, Hard
教训jiàoxùnto lecture sbHSK 6, vn, 16 strokes, rank #2159, Hard
jiàoxùn(jiao4xun4) T4
  1. 1lesson
  2. 2moral
Listen to the audio pronunciation 3 times to gain XP
March 24, 2026

教训(教訓)jiàoxùn(jiao4xun4)

教训 (jiàoxùn) refers to a lesson learned from experience, often with a moral implication. It can also mean to reprimand or lecture someone to impart a lesson, emphasizing the importance of learning from mistakes or experiences.

Strokes16Frequency#2159DifficultyHard
Cultural Note

In Chinese culture, teaching lessons often incorporates moral tales from history or literature, such as the stories of Confucius, where the focus is on learning from past mistakes to improve one's character and behavior.

Memory Tip

Imagine a teacher (教) giving a stern lecture (训) to students, pointing out mistakes they made in a test. The visual of the teacher’s finger wagging helps connect the sound 'jiao' with teaching a lesson and 'xun' with the act of lecturing.

Meanings of 教训

jiàoxùn(jiao4xun4)
1lesson
2moral
Exercise 1 of 2

Listen & Choose the Meaning

Choose the correct answer:

About 教训

教训Simplified
教訓Traditional
16Strokes
—Radical
名动词dòngcíverb-noun (v.-n.)Part of Speech
#2159Frequency Rank
HSK 2.0L5HSK 3.0L6IntermediateTOCFLL4HSKKL2CEFRB1

Podcast: 教训

JasonAmy

Podcast: 教训

Listen to Jason & Amy break down this word for you

AI Study Notes for 教训

Quick Contrast

教导 (jiàodǎo) vs 教训 (jiàoxùn): Use 教导 when focusing on the act of teaching or guiding someone, while 教训 emphasizes the lesson learned from an experience, often with a moral implication.

Usage Notes

Common mistakes include confusing 教训 with 经验 (jīngyàn), which means experience; remember that 教训 often implies a lesson learned from a mistake. It is typically used in slightly formal contexts when discussing moral or corrective lessons.

HSK Study Tips

As an HSK 5 vocabulary word, 教训 is important for discussing experiences and moral teachings. Students should focus on its usage in both literal and figurative contexts, as well as its collocation with verbs like '得到' (to obtain) or '领悟' (to comprehend).

Common Mistakes

Learners often misuse 教训 to mean just 'lesson' in a neutral sense, overlooking its moral connotation. For example, saying '我上了一课' (I took a lesson) instead of '我得到了教训' (I learned a lesson) can make the meaning less impactful.

AI-enhanced 2026-03-24

Pronunciation of 教训

Premium — Locked

AI tone practice

Pro

Drill the tone of 教训 with AI-powered exercises, get instant feedback, and earn XP toward mastery. Interactive tone practice is part of Pro.

Tone drillsInstant feedback+5 XP
See plans to unlock

Component Characters

教jiāoto teach
HSK 211 strokes攵
View full entry
训xùnexample
HSK 75 strokes讠
View full entry

How to say lesson in Chinese

“lesson” in Chinese is教训jiàoxùn

教训 (jiàoxùn) refers to a lesson learned from experience, often with a moral implication. It can also mean to reprimand or lecture someone to impart a lesson, emphasizing the importance of learning from mistakes or experiences.

When to use 教训

Common mistakes include confusing 教训 with 经验 (jīngyàn), which means experience; remember that 教训 often implies a lesson learned from a mistake. It is typically used in slightly formal contexts when discussing moral or corrective lessons.

教训 or something close to it

教导 (jiàodǎo) vs 教训 (jiàoxùn): Use 教导 when focusing on the act of teaching or guiding someone, while 教训 emphasizes the lesson learned from an experience, often with a moral implication.

What learners get wrong

Learners often misuse 教训 to mean just 'lesson' in a neutral sense, overlooking its moral connotation. For example, saying '我上了一课' (I took a lesson) instead of '我得到了教训' (I learned a lesson) can make the meaning less impactful.

Write 教训

教
训

Practice writing 教训 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.

Write correctly 3 times to earn XP

Grammar Patterns of 教训

教训 functions as a verb — the action or state of the sentence. The Chinese order is Subject + Verb + Object (我吃饭). Negate it with 不 (habitual / future) or 没(有) (completed action). Add aspect markers like 了, 过, 着 directly after the verb. It carries 4 related meanings, each with its own usage notes below. The example sentences below show it in action, with practice buttons (Listen, Practice Writing, Practice Speaking) on every line.

Related grammar lessons2
Exercise 1 of 1

Complete the Sentence

若能从失败中获得____，失败亦是成功。

If one can learn lessons from failure, then failure is also success.

Example Sentences for 教训 (12)

Listen to all sentences once to receive XP
1
我深信他已从错误中吸取了教训。

wǒ shēn xìn tā yǐ cóng cuò wù zhōng xī qǔ le jiào xùn。

I am convinced that he has learned from his mistakes.
2
从所有这一切中得出的教训可能具有更广泛的意义。

cóng suǒ yǒu zhè yī qiē zhōng dé chū de jiào xùn kě néng jù yǒu gēng guǎng fàn de yì yì。

The lesson from all of this is perhaps a broader one.
3
吃一堑长一智，他这个教训来之不易——是从他自己的亲身经历中得来的。

chī yī qiàn cháng yī zhì， ， tā zhè gè jiào xùn lái zhī bù—— yì —— shì cóng tā zì jǐ de qīn shēn jīng lì zhōng dé。

He learned this lesson the hard way from his own personal experience.
4
审视过去的作用是能帮你从错误中吸取教训。

shěn shì guò qù de zuò yòng shì néng bāng nǐ cóng cuò wù zhōng xī qǔ jiào xùn。

Looking back helps insofar as it helps you learn from your mistakes.
5
如果她发现你还在这儿，她会狠狠地教训我。

rú guǒ tā fā xiàn nǐ huán zài zhè ér， ， tā huì hěn hěn dì jiào xùn。

She'll crucify me if she finds you still here.
6
我们教训他时，他从来不听。

wǒ mén jiào xùn tā shí， ， tā cóng lái bù。

He never listened to us when we told him off.
7
他的经验教训,不过是舱内那批孜孜不倦的夜校学生中多数人的经验教训罢了.

tā de jīng yàn jiào xùn, , bù guò shì cāng nèi nà pī zī zī bù juàn de yè xiào xué shēng zhōng duō shù rén de jīng yàn jiào xùn bà.

His experience was only the experience of the majority of that industrious night - school in the cabin.
8
在这次事故中，他们学到了一个重要的教训：安全永远是第一位的。

Zài zhè cì shìgù zhōng, tāmen xué dào le yī gè zhòngyào de jiàoxùn: ānquán yǒngyuǎn shì dì-yī wèi de.

In this accident, they learned an important lesson: safety always comes first.
9
经历了那次失败，他终于明白了这个教训的重要性。

Jīnglìle nà cì shībài, tā zhōngyú míngbáile zhège jiàoxùn de zhòngyào xìng.

After experiencing that failure, he finally understood the importance of this lesson.
10
我们从这次的错误中学到了宝贵的教训，下次一定会更小心。

Wǒmen cóng zhè cì de cuòwù zhōng xué dào le bǎoguì de jiàoxùn, xiàcì yídìng huì gèng xiǎoxīn.

We learned a valuable lesson from this mistake and will be more careful next time.
11
他用自己的经验教训警告我们不要犯同样的错误。

Tā yòng zìjǐ de jīngyàn jiàoxùn jǐnggào wǒmen bú yào fàn tóngyàng de cuòwù.

He used his own experiences and lessons to warn us not to make the same mistakes.
12
这次失败是一个痛苦的教训，但它促使我们改进。

Zhè cì shībài shì yí gè tòngkǔ de jiàoxùn, dàn tā cùshǐ wǒmen gǎijìn.

This failure was a painful lesson, but it prompted us to improve.

Frequently Asked Questions about 教训

Yes, it can be used to discuss lessons learned from personal experiences, though it may sound a bit formal.

Jason Recommends

Not sure what to learn after 教训?

Jason picks three words from your level and explains why each one is worth your time next. It takes a free account so he knows what you already know.