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罩 (zhào) — to cover, to envelop; (noun) cover, shade, hood (e.g., lampshade, engine hood); (noun) fish trap (basket)

Definition

罩 (zhào) names the cover itself (lampshade, hood) and the act of covering — more of a physical covering/shade than 遮, which emphasizes blocking or concealing. Less common than 盖 for everyday lids.

verb
to coverto envelop
noun
covershadehood (e.g., lampshade, engine hood)fish trap (basket)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，罩。
    Xià yǔ le, kuài bǎ zì xíng chē zhào hǎo.
    It's raining, quickly cover the bike well.
  • 。
    Zhè ge dēng zhào shì bō li zuò de.
    This lampshade is made of glass.
  • 罩。
    Tā yòng zhú zhào bǔ yú.
    He uses a bamboo fish trap to catch fish.

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
罒Written in full as网wǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
卓
卓zhuó罩zhào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

罩 combines 罒, a form of 网 “net”, with 卓, which gives the sound.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Miscellaneous Objects5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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