作罢 (zuò bà) — to give up, to drop (a plan)

Definition

作罢 (zuòbà) means to abandon or call off a plan after effort has failed — more decisive than 放弃, which covers giving up broadly (habits, hopes, attempts). Often pairs with 只好 or "just" to signal reluctant resignation.

verb
to give upto drop (a plan)

Examples

  • ，作罢。
    Jì rán dà jiā dōu bù tóng yì, zhè ge jì huà zhǐ hǎo zuò bà le.
    Since everyone disagrees, we have to drop this plan.
  • ，作罢。
    Tā shì le jǐ cì dōu shī bài, zuì hòu zuò bà le.
    He tried several times and failed, so he finally gave up.
  • ，作罢。
    Shì qing yǐ jīng zhè yàng le, wǒ men jiù zuò bà ba.
    Things are already like this — let's just call it off.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

作zuòdo
罢bàstop

The parts 作 and 罢 suggest stopping what one was doing.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 罷; 罢 is its simplified writing.

The story is about the traditional form 罷: 网 (a net) and 能 are placed together to show catching a bear with a net. The simplified 罢 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罢 →

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