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合作 (hé zuò) — to cooperate, to collaborate, to work together

Definition

合作 is the standard, neutral word for 'cooperate / collaborate' in business, projects, and team work. 携手 and 联手 are more literary and emphasize joining forces; 协作 focuses on coordinated分工 in a task.

verb
to cooperateto collaborateto work together
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 合作。
    Zhè liǎng jiā gōng sī jué dìng hé zuò kāi fā xīn chǎn pǐn.
    The two companies decided to cooperate in developing new products.
  • 合作。
    Tā men hé zuò wán chéng le yí gè zhòng yào xiàng mù.
    They collaborated to complete an important project.
  • 合作。
    Wǒ yuàn yì gēn nǐ men hé zuò.
    I am willing to work together with you.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

合hétogether
作zuòwork

合 means together and 作 means work, naming work done together.

Characters in this word

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

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

Open 合 →

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
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