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肇事 (zhào shì) — to cause an accident or incident (especially traffic); to cause a disturbance, to provoke an incident

Definition

Used mostly in formal/written reports about someone causing a traffic accident or a public disturbance — almost always used with a negative event (肇事者, 肇事现场). It is more formal and legalistic than everyday verbs like 造成.

verb
to cause an accident or incident (especially traffic)to cause a disturbanceto provoke an incident

Examples

  • 肇事，。
    Nà liàng kǎ chē zài zhuǎn wān shí zhào shì, zhuàng dǎo le yì kē shù.
    That truck caused an accident while turning and knocked down a tree.
  • 肇事，。
    Zhè jiā gōng chǎng wéi guī cāo zuò zhào shì, dǎo zhì duō rén shòu shāng.
    This factory violated procedures and caused an accident, resulting in multiple injuries.
  • 肇事，。
    Jǐ gè zuì hàn zài jiǔ bā lǐ zhào shì, yǐn qǐ le hùn luàn.
    Several drunk men caused a disturbance in the bar, creating chaos.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

肇zhàocause
事shìincident

"肇" cause and "事" incident together mean cause an accident.

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
攵Written in full as攴pūhand action
Sound part声符shēngfú
肁
肁zhào肇zhào
Same sound today

肇 pairs 肁, which gives the sound, with 攵, a hand-action component.

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Crime & PoliceRoads & Traffic

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