关照 (guān zhào) — to look after; to take care of; to keep an eye…

Definition

关照 has two distinct senses: 'look after' (more formal than 看 kān) and 'remind/tell' (close to 提醒 but with a softer, more considerate tone).

verb

to look afterto take care ofto keep an eye onto tell (someone something)to remind

，关照。
Wǒ bú zài jiā de shí hou, má fan nǐ guān zhào yí xià wǒ de huā.
When I'm not home, please look after my flowers for a bit.
，关照。
Tā zǒu zhī qián, nǐ xū yào guān zhào tā yī shēng shí jiān gǎi le.
Before he leaves, you need to tell him the time has changed.
，关照。
Gāng dào xīn gōng sī, tóng shì men dōu hěn guān zhào wǒ.
When I first arrived at the new company, my colleagues all looked after me well.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

照zhàolook after

关 and 照 both express care and attention, so the word means to look after or remind.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

門門méndoor

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢇅

𢇅𢇅關guān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

灬昭照

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

昭

Same sound today

照 uses 灬, a bottom form of 火 (fire), plus 昭 for the sound.

Appears in