注册 (zhù cè) — to register, to enroll | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

注册 is the formal 'register' word — used for accounts, companies, and trademarks (e.g. 网站, 公司). For signing up for a class or event use 报名; for logging in use 登录; for a hospital use 挂号.

verb

to registerto enroll

Examples

注册。
Wǒ zài zhè ge wǎng zhàn zhù cè le yí gè xīn zhàng hào.
I registered a new account on this website.
注册？
Nǐ zhù cè le xīn de yīng yǔ kè chéng ma?
Did you register for the new English course?
注册。
Tā men míng nián zhù cè le yì jiā mào yì gōng sī.
They will register a trading company next year.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

册cèregister

注 means to enter or record, while 册 is a register, so the word means to enter into a register.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

主

主zhǔ注zhù

Same sound today

注 combines 水, meaning water, with 主, which gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 冊; 册 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 冊 shows bamboo slips strung together, the pages of a book; the simplified 册 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.