实招 (shí zhāo) — (noun) real tactic, practical move, effective approach

Definition

A concrete, effective tactic (as opposed to 花架子, flashy-but-empty moves). Pairs with verbs like 用 and 出.

noun
real tacticpractical moveeffective approach

Examples

  • ，实招。
    Zài guān jiàn shí kè, tā yòng le zuì hòu shí zhāo.
    At the critical moment, he used his final real move.
  • ，实招。
    Gōng sī miàn lín de kùn nan, xū yào gèng duō shí zhāo lái jiě jué.
    The difficulties the company faces need more practical measures to solve.
  • ，实招。
    Xué wǔ shù bù guāng liàn huā jià zi, yào liàn zhēn zhèng shí zhāo.
    Learning martial arts isn't just about practicing fancy moves; you need to practice real techniques.

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.

实shíreal
招zhāomove

“实” means real or practical and “招” means a move or tactic, together giving a practical move.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 實; 实 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 周周zhōucarved jade
  • 貝貝bèishellfish; cowrie

The traditional form 實 has 宀 'roof' above 周 'carved jade' and 貝 'cowrie'; the simplified 实 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 实 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

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