造福 (zào fú) — to benefit (a large group of people, especially… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

造福 means 'to bring benefit to' on a grand, long-term scale (society, humanity). Unlike 受益/得益, it focuses on the giver, not the one receiving benefit; 福利 refers to concrete welfare benefits or perks.

verb

to benefit (a large group of people, especially in a long-term or grand sense)

Examples

造福。
Zhè xiàng zhèng cè zào fú le guǎng dà nóng mín.
This policy has benefited the vast majority of farmers.
造福。
Fā zhǎn jiào yù shì zào fú shè huì de gēn běn tú jìng.
Developing education is the fundamental way to benefit society.
造福。
Tā men zhì lì yú yòng kē jì zào fú quán rén lèi.
They are committed to using technology to benefit all humanity.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

福fúfortune; benefit

造 means to create, and 福 means fortune, giving the sense of creating benefit for people.

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

辵辵chuòto walk

Sound part声符shēngfú

屮

屮chè造zào

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Its origin is unclear, but early forms of 造 include 辵 (to walk) and 口, with 屮 as a sound part, and mean go or arrive.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

畐

畐fú福fú

Same sound today

福 combines 示 and 畐, with 示 carrying the meaning and 畐 the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Society & Public Life

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