招揽 (zhāo lǎn) — to attract (customers); to drum up (business) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

招揽 is a business/marketing verb meaning 'to drum up (customers/business)' — more active and goal-oriented than 吸引 (general 'attract'), and typically used for customers, clients, or sales rather than abstract attention like 吸引.

verb

to attract (customers)to drum up (business)

Examples

招揽。
Zhè jiā gōng sī yòng huì yuán yōu huì zhāo lǎn xīn gù kè.
This company uses membership discounts to attract new customers.
招揽。
Tā kào wǎng luò yíng xiāo zhāo lǎn shēng yì.
He relies on online marketing to drum up business.
，招揽。
Xiǎo fàn men zài jiē biān dà shēng jiào mài, xiǎng zhāo lǎn gèng duō de kè rén.
The peddlers are shouting on the street, trying to attract more customers.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

招zhāoattract

Both 招 (attract) and 揽 (gather) describe drawing people or business in.

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.

扌召招

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

召

召zhào招zhāo

Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

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 攬; 揽 is its simplified writing.

扌覽攬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

覽

覽lǎn攬lǎn

Same sound today

The traditional form 攬 pairs 扌 (hand) with the sound part 覽, giving the sense of grasping with the hand; the simplified 揽 is a shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Marketing & Sales

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