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发现

fāxiàn

discover

Usage note

“发现”常用于描述在日常生活中偶然或有意地找到或认识到某事物。

fāxiàn cháng yòng wú lù qū miáo dá zài rì kāi shēn zhōng gǒu rán huò yǒu yì dìng dǎo zhào mǒu shì wù.

"发现" is often used to describe finding or recognizing something in daily life, either by chance or intentionally.

Context note

“发现”常用于描述在日常生活中偶然或有意地找到或认识到某事物。例如：妈妈发现了新衣服，老师发现了问题。

fāxiàn cháng yòng wú lù qū miáo dá zài rì kāi shēn zhōng gǒu rán huò yǒu yì dìng dǎo zhào mǒu shì wù. rúlèi：mā ma fāxiàn le xīn yīfú, lǎoshī fāxiàn le wèntí.

"发现" is often used to describe finding or recognizing something in daily life, either by chance or intentionally. For example: Mom discovered a new dress, the teacher found a problem.

5 examples

我发现了一个新玩具。
wǒ fā xiàn le yí gè xīn wán jù。
I discovered a new toy.
他发现了错误的答案。
tā fā xiàn le cuò wù de dá àn。
He found the wrong answer.
我们发现了一只小猫。
wǒ men fā xiàn le yì zhī xiǎo māo。
We found a little cat.
她发现了妈妈的秘密。
tā fā xiàn le mā ma de mì mì。
She discovered her mom's secret.
科学家们发现了新的病毒。
kē xué jiā men fā xiàn le xīn de bìng dú。
Scientists discovered a new virus.

5 mini stories

小明发现了一本有趣的书。他很喜欢。
xiǎo míng fā xiàn le yì běn yǒu qù de shū。 tā hěn xǐ huan。
Xiaoming found an interesting book. He really liked it.
妈妈带我们去公园，我发现了许多漂亮的花。
mā ma dài wǒ men qù gōng yuán， wǒ fā xiàn le xǔ duō piào liang de huā。
Mom took us to the park, and I discovered many beautiful flowers.
老师发现小华在课堂上很认真。
lǎo shī fā xiàn xiǎo huá zài kè táng shàng hěn rèn zhēn。
The teacher noticed that Xiaohua was very focused in class.
爸爸发现家里有很多旧书可以卖掉。
bà ba fā xiàn jiā lǐ yǒu hěn duō jiù shū kě yǐ mài diào。
Dad found many old books at home that could be sold.
妹妹发现了一个漂亮的蝴蝶结，她很高兴。
mèi mei fā xiàn le yí gè piào liang de hú dié jié， tā hěn gāo xìng。
Sis discovered a pretty bow, she was very happy.

Mini dialogue

找东西

A
你发现我的铅笔了吗？
Nǐ fāxiàn wǒ de qiānbǐ le ma?
Did you find my pencil?
B
我发现了，它在你的书下面。
Wǒ fāxiàn le, tā zài nǐ de shū xiàmiàn.
I found it, it's under your book.

新发现

A
我在花园里发现了一只小蜗牛。
Wǒ zài huāyuán lǐ fāxiàn le yī zhī xiǎo wōniú.
I discovered a little snail in the garden.
B
哇，它可爱吗？
Wa, tā kě'ài ma?
Wow, is it cute?

Related words and contrasts

similar
找到
zhǎo dào
find

发现 is more about discovering something new; 找到 is about finding something you were looking for.

contrast
发明
fā míng
invent

发现 means to discover something that already exists; 发明 means to invent something new.

Explore more words

的 / de我 / wǒ你 / nǐ是 / shì了 / le不 / bù在 / zài他 / tā