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打杂 (dǎ zá) — to do odd jobs, to run errands (as a junior staff member or assistant)

Definition

Separable verb meaning 'to do odd jobs / run errands', usually as a junior assistant. Split for aspect/tense: 打了两年杂, not *打杂了两年.

verb
to do odd jobsto run errands (as a junior staff member or assistant)

Examples

  • ，打杂。
    Tā gāng lái gōng sī de shí hou, měi tiān zhī dǎ zá.
    When he first came to the company, he only did odd jobs every day.
  • 。
    Tā zài nà jiā gōng chǎng dǎ le liǎng nián zá.
    He did odd jobs at that factory for two years.
  • ，。
    Wǒ xiàn zài de gōng zuò jiù shì dǎ dǎ zá, méi shén me jì shù hán liàng.
    My current job is just running errands, nothing technical.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎdo
杂zámiscellaneous

打 (do) and 杂 (miscellaneous) combine as 'do miscellaneous tasks', i.e. odd jobs.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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 雜; 杂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
集
集jí雜zá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雜 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 集 as a sound part, originally referring to mixed colours, perhaps in dyed clothes; the simplified 杂 is a later shorthand.

Open 杂 →
Appears in
Professions & JobsWorkplace & Office

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