TongTong
Sign in

作客 (zuò kè) — to stay as a guest (at someone's place)

Definition

作客 means to stay as a guest at someone else's home. Unlike 逗留 (to sojourn/stay somewhere temporarily, often a place), 作客 specifically emphasizes being a guest in another person's house.

verb
to stay as a guest (at someone's place)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 作客。
    Shǔ jià wǒ qù běi jīng zuò kè le bàn gè yuè.
    I went to Beijing during summer break and stayed as a guest for half a month.
  • 作客。
    Tā měi cì zuò kè dōu huì dài yí fèn lǐ wù.
    Every time he stays as a guest, he brings a gift.
  • 作客。
    Zài péng you jiā zuò kè yào jì de bāng máng zuò jiā wù.
    When staying as a guest at a friend's place, remember to help with chores.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

作zuòact as
客kèguest

“作” (act as) and “客” (guest) combine to mean acting as a guest.

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè客kè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Open 客 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Friends & Social

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