执照 (zhí zhào) — license, permit | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

执照 is a formal certificate proving you are licensed to do a regulated activity (drive, work, operate a business). Compare 牌照 (business/operation permits and license plates) and 证书 (general credentials or qualifications).

noun

licensepermit

Measure word · 张

Examples

执照。
Tā kǎo le sān cì cái ná dào jià shǐ zhí zhào.
He passed the test three times before getting his driver's license.
，。
Zhè jiā gōng sī méi yǒu yíng yè zhí zhào, bù néng kāi yè.
This company doesn't have a business license, so it can't open.
执照？
Nǐ de gōng zuò zhí zhào shén me shí hou dào qī?
When does your work permit expire?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

执zhíhold

照zhàocertificate

执 means to hold, and 照 means a certificate, together they refer to a held certificate or license.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 執; 执 is its simplified writing.

㚔㚔㚔criminal / handcuffs
丮丮jǐhand

The traditional form 執 shows 㚔, a handcuffed criminal, with 丮, a hand, giving the idea of arrest. The simplified 执 is a later shorthand, so its current parts are not the original pieces.

Open 执 →

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

灬昭照

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

昭

昭zhāo照zhào

Same sound today

照 uses 灬, a bottom form of 火 (fire), plus 昭 for the sound.

Open 照 →

Appears in