TongTong
Sign in

作坊 (zuō fang) — workshop (small-scale manual production facility)

Definition

作坊 (zuōfang) is a small, often traditional or family-run workshop for handcrafts or manual production. Unlike 工厂, it implies modest scale and craft-based rather than industrial manufacturing.

noun
workshop (small-scale manual production facility)
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 作坊。
    Zhè jiā zuō fang shēng chǎn shǒu gōng táo qì.
    This workshop produces handmade pottery.
  • 作坊。
    Lǎo chéng de jiē dào shàng yǒu xǔ duō xiǎo zuō fang.
    There are many small workshops on the streets of the old city.
  • 作坊。
    Tā nián qīng shí zài yì jiā mù jiàng zuō fang xué shǒu yì.
    When he was young, he learned a craft in a carpenter's workshop.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

作zuòmake
坊fāngworkshop

作 for making and 坊 for a workshop combine to mean a small workshop.

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng坊fáng
Same sound today

坊 is made of 土 (earth) beside 方 (fāng); 方 supplies the sound.

Open 坊 →
Appears in
Industry & Manufacturing

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