TongTong
Sign in

作伴 (zuò bàn) — to keep someone company, to accompany

Definition

作伴 means to keep someone company or do something together for companionship. 陪 focuses on physically staying with someone, often in difficult times.

verb
to keep someone companyto accompany

Examples

  • ，作伴？
    Wǒ yí gè rén tài wú liáo, nǐ néng lái gēn wǒ zuò bàn ma?
    I'm too bored alone. Can you come keep me company?
  • ，。
    Zán men jīn wǎn yì qǐ chī fàn, zuò gè bàn ba.
    Let's eat dinner together tonight and keep each other company.
  • ，，。
    Tā shēng bìng shí, wǒ yì zhí péi tā, zuò le zhěng zhěng sān tiān de bàn.
    When she was sick, I stayed with her and kept her company for three whole days.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

作zuòmake
伴bàncompanion

'作' (make) with '伴' (companion) means to keep someone company.

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn伴bàn
Same sound today

伴 puts 亻 (person) beside 半. The person part fits the meaning of companion, and 半 gives the sound.

Open 伴 →
Appears in
Friends & Social

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