作秀 (zuò xiù) — to show off, to put on a performance (often negative: insincere or attention-seeking)

Definition

作秀 (zuòxiù) means to put on a show — acting for show, insincere, for attention or image. It is evaluative: the speaker is judging the behavior as fake or self-serving.

verb
to show offto put on a performance (often negative: insincere or attention-seeking)

Examples

  • 作秀。
    Tā zǒng ài zài lǐng dǎo miàn qián zuò xiù.
    He always likes to show off in front of the leaders.
  • ，。
    Nà xiē míng xīng zhǐ shì lái zuò yì chǎng xiù, bú shì zhēn xīn bāng máng.
    Those celebrities just came to put on a show; they don't genuinely want to help.
  • 作秀，。
    Bié zuò xiù le, wǒ men dōu zhī dào zhēn xiàng.
    Stop showing off — we all know the truth.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

作zuòdo
秀xiùshow

作 means do and 秀 spells show, so it pictures doing a show, often insincerely.

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 →

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

秀 pairs 禾 (rice plant) with 引 (to draw out flowers), showing a rice plant putting out flowers.

Open 秀 →

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