遭 meaning and stroke order
To meet, to encounter, to come across
How to write 遭, stroke by stroke
14 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 遭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to suffer; to meet with (usu. misfortune)
- classifier for events: time, turn, incident
How 遭 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Walk.
辶 gives the meaning and 曹 hints at the sound.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 遭
遭 combines 辶 (walking) with 曹 (cáo), which gives the sound. Picture yourself walking along a road and running into trouble you did not expect.
遭 usually means to meet with something bad, and it appears mostly in words like 遭到 (zāodào), 遭受 (zāoshòu) and 遭遇 (zāoyù). It can also count occurrences, as in 头一遭 (tóu yì zāo, the first time). Example: 他的计划遭到了反对。(Tā de jìhuà zāodào le fǎnduì.) His plan met with opposition.
Common mistake: Learners often use 遭到 for good things, but it almost always takes a negative object. You say 受到欢迎 (shòudào huānyíng), not 遭到欢迎. Also keep the tone first tone zāo, and do not read it like its sound part 曹 (cáo).
Common words with 遭
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 遭到 | zāodào | to suffer; to meet with (sth unfortunate) | HSK 6 |
| 遭遇 | zāoyù | to meet with; to encounter (esp. misfortune or hardship); an experience (esp. adverse) | HSK 6 |
| 遭受 | zāoshòu | to suffer; to sustain (loss, misfortune) | HSK 6 |
| 遭殃 | zāoyāng | to suffer a calamity | HSK 7-9 |
| 周遭 | zhōuzāo | surrounding; nearby | |
| 惨遭 | cǎnzāo | to suffer (defeat, death etc) | |
| 免遭 | miǎnzāo | to avoid suffering; to avoid meeting (a fatal accident) | |
| 遭罪 | zāozuì | to endure hardship; to suffer |
遭 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 遭
How many strokes are in 遭?
遭 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 遭 mean?
遭 (zāo) means to meet, to encounter, to come across. A common word with it is 遭到 (zāodào), meaning "to suffer; to meet with (sth unfortunate)".
How do you pronounce 遭?
遭 is pronounced zāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 遭?
The radical of 遭 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 遭 under this radical.
Is 遭 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 遭 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 遭到, 遭受 and 遭遇?
遭到 and 遭受 both mean to suffer something negative, and 遭受 often goes with heavy words like 损失 (sǔnshī, loss). 遭遇 can be a verb, but it can also be a noun meaning a bad experience, as in 不幸的遭遇 (bùxìng de zāoyù).
What does 一遭 mean?
Here 遭 is a classifier meaning a time or a round. 头一遭 (tóu yì zāo) means the first time, and 走一遭 (zǒu yì zāo) means to make a trip somewhere.