TongTong
Sign in

扎营 (zhā yíng) — to camp, to pitch camp, to encamp

Definition

扎营 is a separable verb meaning 'to camp / pitch camp' — usually for tents in the wild, not staying at an inn. It splits in past/perfective: 扎了营, 扎过营.

verb
to campto pitch campto encamp

Examples

  • 扎营。
    Tā men zài hé biān zhā yíng.
    They camped by the river.
  • 。
    Wǒ men zuó tiān wǎn shàng zài shān dǐng zhā le yíng.
    We set up camp on the mountaintop last night.
  • 。
    Wǒ zài zhè piàn sēn lín lǐ zhā guò liǎng cì yíng.
    I've camped twice in this forest.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

扎zhāpitch
营yíngcamp

扎 means to pitch or set up, and 营 means camp, so the action is setting up a camp.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
乙
乙yǐ扎zhā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

扎 is built from 手 (hand) and 乙, which gives the sound.

Open 扎 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 營; 营 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宮宮gōngpalace
Sound part声符shēngfú
熒
熒yíng營yíng
Same sound today

The traditional form 營 pairs 宮 (palace) with 熒 as a sound part, depicting a person working all night with a light on his house; the simplified 营 is a later abbreviation.

Open 营 →
Appears in
Outdoor Recreation

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.