TongTong
Sign in

告知 (gào zhī) — to inform, to notify (formal/written)

Definition

告知 (gàozhī) is the formal, written 'to inform / notify' — used in official or business contexts, not casual speech. Compared to 通知, it sounds more literary; 告诉 is the everyday spoken equivalent.

verb
to informto notify (formal/written)

Examples

  • 告知。
    Qǐng wù bì gào zhī suǒ yǒu cān yù zhě.
    Please make sure to inform all participants.
  • 告知。
    Gōng sī yǐ yú shàng zhōu gào zhī quán tǐ yuán gōng.
    The company already informed all employees last week.
  • 告知。
    Shōu dào tōng zhī hòu qǐng lì jí gào zhī wǒ.
    Please inform me immediately after receiving the notice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

告gàotell
知zhīknow

告 is to tell, and 知 is to know; together they mean to tell something so someone knows.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →

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

An early form of 知 showed 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to a child to pass on knowledge. The 子 part was dropped, and the 大 part changed shape.

Open 知 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & Speech5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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