招子 (zhāo zǐ) — poster, shop sign; trick, clever move, device (as a strategy or scheme)

Definition

A colloquial noun with two distinct senses: a shop sign or poster, and a clever trick or stratagem. The 'sign' sense is concrete and physical; the 'trick' sense is abstract and strategy-related.

noun
postershop signtrickclever movedevice (as a strategy or scheme)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 招子。
    Nà jiā diàn de zhāo zǐ hěn xiǎn yǎn.
    That shop's sign is very conspicuous.
  • 招子。
    Tā yǒu hěn duō zhāo zǐ lái duì fu jìng zhēng duì shǒu.
    He has many tricks to deal with competitors.
  • 招子，。
    Zhè ge zhāo zǐ hěn guǎn yòng, nǐ shì shì kàn.
    This device works well; give it a try.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

招zhāoattract
子zǐthing

招 (attract) + 子 names a sign or trick used to attract attention.

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
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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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