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朝着 (cháo zhe) — (coverb) toward, in the direction of

Definition

朝 (cháo) is a preposition meaning 'toward' — used for physical direction or the target of effort (朝着大海, 朝着目标). It is a more formal/literary coverb than 向.

preposition
(coverb) towardin the direction of

Examples

  • 朝着。
    Tā cháo zhe dà hǎi zǒu qù.
    He walked toward the sea.
  • 朝着。
    Tā men cháo zhe mù biāo nǔ lì fèn dòu.
    They strive hard toward their goal.
  • 朝着。
    Xiǎo niǎo cháo zhe nán fāng fēi qù.
    The little bird flies toward the south.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

朝cháotoward
着zhedirectional

朝 gives the facing direction, and 着 gives it the sense of pointing at a target, so 朝着 means toward.

Characters in this word

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

Originally, 朝 showed the sun rising above the ground while the moon was still in the sky, giving the sense of morning.

Open 朝 →

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
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