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作用 (zuò yòng) — (noun) effect, function, impact; (verb) to act on, to affect (often used in 起作用 or 作用于)

Definition

作用 (zuòyòng) is a noun meaning 'effect / function / impact' — broader and more neutral than 影响 (often about influence on people/events) and more general than 效果 (a specific concrete result). As a verb it means 'to act on' (作用于).

noun
effectfunctionimpact
verb
to act onto affect (often used in 起作用 or 作用于)

Examples

  • 作用？
    Zhè zhǒng xīn yào yǒu shén me zuò yòng?
    What effect does this new medicine have?
  • 作用。
    Jiào yù duì shè huì de fā zhǎn yǒu zhòng yào zuò yòng.
    Education has an important effect on the development of society.
  • 作用。
    Zhè ge jué dìng chǎn shēng le jī jí de zuò yòng.
    This decision produced a positive effect.
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 3Abstract Concepts2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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