造 (zào) — to build; to construct; to manufacture; to invent; to fabricate
Definition
造 covers both making real things (造房子, 造汽车 — build/manufacture) and making up untruths (造假, 造故事 — fabricate). Compared with 制造 (concrete production) and 虚构/编造 (false stories), 造 spans both senses in one short, general word.
verb
to buildto constructto manufactureto inventto fabricate
Examples
- 造。Tā men dǎ suàn zài shān shàng zào yí dòng fáng zi.They plan to build a house on the mountain.
- 造。Zhè ge gōng sī zào hěn duō qì chē.This company manufactures many cars.
- 造。Tā zào le yí gè jiǎ gù shi lái piàn rén.He fabricated a fake story to deceive people.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
屮
屮chè造zào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
Its origin is unclear, but early forms of 造 include 辵 (to walk) and 口, with 屮 as a sound part, and mean go or arrive.
Appears in
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