罩子 (zhào zǐ) — cover; hood; casing (a protective or concealing covering)

Definition

A common word for a physical cover or hood (machine cover, lampshade, food cover). Suffix -子 is a neutral everyday marker here, not diminutive; 罩 without 子 is more technical/literary.

noun
coverhoodcasing (a protective or concealing covering)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 罩子，。
    Zhè ge jī qì de zhào zǐ huài le, xū yào huàn yí gè.
    The cover of this machine is broken, need to replace it.
  • 罩子，。
    Tā yòng bù zuò le yí gè zhào zǐ, bǎ shí wù gài qǐ lái.
    She made a cloth cover to put over the food.
  • 罩子。
    Dēng shàng de zhào zǐ kě yǐ fáng zhǐ huī chén diào dào dēng pào shàng.
    The lampshade (cover on the lamp) can prevent dust from falling onto the bulb.

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.

罩zhàocover
子zǐthing

The 罩 gives the covering meaning, and the 子 denotes a thing that covers.

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
罒Written in full as网wǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
卓
卓zhuó罩zhào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

罩 combines 罒, a form of 网 “net”, with 卓, which gives the sound.

Open 罩 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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