乍 (zhà) — (adverb, literary) for the first time; initially; (adverb, literary) suddenly; abruptly
Definition
Literary adverb used in two distinct ways: 'suddenly, all of a sudden' (e.g. 乍暖还寒), and 'at first, upon first doing something' (e.g. 乍一看). Only common in written Chinese; in speech use 突然 or 一开始 instead.
adverb
(adverb, literary) for the first timeinitially(adverb, literary) suddenlyabruptly
Easily confused
- 作zuōlook-alike(colloquial) to act up, to make trouble, to be fussy or high-maintenance
- 炸zhàsound-aliketo explode, to burst, to blow up
- 咋zǎlook-alike(bound form, colloquial Northern Mandarin) how; why
- 炸zhàsound-aliketo deep fry (usually pronounced zhá)
- 榨zhàsound-aliketo press, to squeeze (juice, oil)
- 诈zhàsound-aliketo swindle, to cheat, to defraud
Examples
- 乍，。zhà Yí kàn, zhè ge wèn tí hěn jiǎn dān.At first glance, this problem looks very simple.
- 乍，。Chūn tiān zhà nuǎn huán hán, yào xiǎo xīn gǎn mào.In spring, it suddenly warms up but still gets cold, be careful not to catch a cold.
- 乍，。Tā zhà tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, lèng zhù le.He was stunned when he first heard this news.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.
乍 was drawn as an axe chopping wood.
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