Meaning of 拍照
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to take a picture
How to use 拍照
拍照 is the everyday way to say take a photo, with a phone or a camera. It is a verb plus object word, so you can split it: 拍一张照 (pāi yì zhāng zhào). Example: 这里可以拍照吗？(Zhèlǐ kěyǐ pāizhào ma?) Can I take pictures here?
拍 (pāi) means to pat or tap, and has the hand radical 扌 on the left. 照 (zhào) means to shine or reflect an image, so 拍照 is tapping the button to catch an image.
Common mistake: Learners often say 拍照片 when they mean the action, or 照 alone for the noun. Use 拍照 for the activity and 照片 (zhàopiàn) for the photo itself, as in 拍了很多照片 (pāi le hěn duō zhàopiàn) took a lot of photos.
拍照 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
拍 pāi · to pat · 8 strokes
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照 zhào · according to · 13 strokes
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- 13
Related words
Words that share a character with 拍照.
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photograph |
| 照顾 | zhàogù | to take care of; to show consideration |
| 护照 | hùzhào | passport |
| 照相 | zhàoxiàng | to take a photograph |
| 按照 | ànzhào | according to; in accordance with; on the basis of |
| 拍摄 | pāishè | to take (a picture); to shoot (a film) |
| 驾照 | jiàzhào | driver's license (abbr. for 駕駛執照|驾驶执照[jia4 shi3 zhi2 zhao4]) |
| 依照 | yīzhào | according to; in light of |
| 照耀 | zhàoyào | to shine; to illuminate |
| 照样 | zhàoyàng | as before; (same) as usual |
| 球拍 | qiúpāi | (tennis, badminton etc) racket; (table tennis) paddle; (cricket) bat |
| 执照 | zhízhào | license; permit |
Questions about 拍照
What does 拍照 mean?
拍照 (pāizhào) means "to take a picture".
How do you write 拍照?
拍照 is made of 2 characters: 拍 (8 strokes), 照 (13 strokes). That is 21 strokes in total.
Is 拍照 an HSK word?
Yes. 拍照 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say take a photo of someone with 拍照?
Use 给 or 帮: 我给你拍照 (wǒ gěi nǐ pāizhào) I will take your picture. To ask a favor, say 能帮我拍张照吗？(Néng bāng wǒ pāi zhāng zhào ma?) Could you take a photo for me?
What is the difference between 拍照, 照相 and 拍摄?
拍照 and 照相 (zhàoxiàng) both mean take a photo, and 拍照 is more common in casual speech today. 拍摄 (pāishè) is more formal and also covers shooting films or videos.