TongTong
Sign in

执着 (zhí zhuó) — (of a person) persistent and dedicated (positive); (of an attitude) overly attached, stubborn (often negative, used with 于)

Definition

执着 is a two-sided adjective: positive sense = persistent and dedicated (people, pursuits); negative sense = overly attached or stubborn, often used as 执着于. Lighter and more mixed than the purely negative 固执.

adjective
(of a person) persistent and dedicated (positive)(of an attitude) overly attachedstubborn (often negative, used with 于)

Examples

  • 执着。
    Tā duì gōng zuò hěn zhí zhuó.
    He is very dedicated to his work.
  • 执着。
    Bú yào tài zhí zhuó yú guò qù.
    Don't cling too much to the past.
  • 执着，。
    Tā shì yí gè zhí zhuó de rén, cóng lái bú huì qīng yì fàng qì.
    She is a persistent person who never gives up easily.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

执zhíhold
着zheattach

执 suggests holding or grasping, and 着 suggests attaching; together they describe clinging firmly to something.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě著zháo
Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Open 着 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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