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张罗 (zhāng luo) — to make arrangements for; to take care of (a task, event, etc.); to be busy with preparations

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to handle / arrange / take care of' a task or event — often something busy or fiddly with many small details to manage.

verb
to make arrangements forto take care of (a task, event, etc.)to be busy with preparations

Examples

  • 张罗，。
    Tā zhèng zài zhāng luo hūn yàn, máng de bù kě kāi jiāo.
    She is busy making arrangements for the wedding banquet, extremely busy.
  • 张罗。
    Mā ma yí dà zǎo jiù chū qù zhāng luo wǎn fàn de dōng xī le.
    Mom went out early in the morning to take care of things for dinner.
  • 张罗，。
    Zhè jiàn shì nǐ lái zhāng luo ba, wǒ shí zài méi shí jiān.
    You handle this — I really don't have time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

张zhāngspread
罗luónet

张 means to spread and 罗 means net, so the original image is spreading a net, extended to arranging things.

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 張; 张 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōngbow
Sound part声符shēngfú
長
長cháng張zhāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 張 combines 弓, a bow, with 長, which points to the sound; the simplified 张 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 张 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 羅; 罗 is its simplified writing.

  • 网网wǎngnet
  • 維維wéibird (tied with string)

The traditional form 羅 combines 网 (net) with 維 (a bird tied with string) to show a net for catching birds; the simplified 罗 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罗 →
Appears in
Management

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