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叫作 (jiào zuò) — to be called; to be known as

Definition

叫作 is a longer, written-style variant of 叫 'to be called / to be known as,' used especially in definitions and formal descriptions. 称为 and 称作 are more formal synonyms for introducing a name or label.

verb
to be calledto be known as

Examples

  • 叫作。
    Zhè ge jiào zuò xiǎo wáng.
    This one is called Little Wang.
  • 叫作。
    Nà zhǒng shuǐ guǒ jiào zuò píng guǒ.
    That kind of fruit is called an apple.
  • 叫作。
    Zhè ge chéng shì jiào zuò shàng hǎi.
    This city is called Shanghai.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

叫jiàocall
作zuòbe named

叫 means to call and 作 gives the sense of being named, so the meaning is to call or be called.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū叫jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

Open 叫 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Communication & Speech

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