(zāo) — terrible; in a bad state; messed up; ruined

Definition

糟 is a colloquial adjective for things or situations going badly — closer to 糟糕 ('awful') than to 烂, which usually describes food or objects rotting. Use it for moods, plans, exams.

adjective
terriblein a bad statemessed upruined

Examples

  • Jīn tiān de kǎo shì zāo tòu le!
    Today's exam was terrible!
  • Tā bǎ wǒ de jì huà quán gǎo zāo le.
    He completely messed up my plan.
  • Xīn qíng bù hǎo, gǎn jué hěn zāo.
    I'm in a bad mood and feel terrible.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
cáozāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

糟 pairs 米 (rice) with 曹, which gives its sound; the rice side points to liquor made from fermented rice, originally meaning unfiltered.

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