Meaning of 招
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to recruit
- to provoke
- to beckon
- to incur
- to infect
- contagious
- a move (chess)
- a maneuver
How to use 招
招 appears mostly in compounds like 招呼 (zhāohu), 招手 (zhāoshǒu), 招聘 (zhāopìn) and 招待 (zhāodài). On its own it can mean to attract something unwanted, or a clever move or trick. Example: 他向我招手。(Tā xiàng wǒ zhāoshǒu.) He waved to me.
招 is built from the hand radical 扌 on the left and 召 (zhào, to summon) on the right. Picture a hand waving to summon someone over, which is the core idea of beckoning and recruiting.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 招 (zhāo) with 召 (zhào) or 超 (chāo) because they share the 召 part. Remember that 招 has the hand radical 扌 and takes the first tone.
招 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.
招 zhāo · to recruit · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 招.
| 招呼 | zhāohu | to call out to; to greet |
| 招手 | zhāoshǒu | to wave; to beckon |
| 招生 | zhāoshēng | to enroll new students; to get students |
| 招聘 | zhāopìn | to invite applications for a job; to recruit |
| 招待 | zhāodài | to hold a reception; to offer hospitality; to entertain (guests); to serve (customers) |
| 打招呼 | dǎ zhāohu | to greet sb by word or action; to give prior notice |
| 招募 | zhāomù | to recruit; to enlist |
| 招牌 | zhāopai | signboard; shop sign |
| 招待会 | zhāodàihuì | a reception |
| 招数 | zhāoshù | move (in chess, on stage, in martial arts); gambit |
| 绝招 | juézhāo | unique skill; unexpected tricky move (as a last resort) |
| 招揽 | zhāolǎn | to attract (customers); to drum up (trade) |
Questions about 招
What does 招 mean?
招 (zhāo) means "to recruit; to provoke" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 招?
招 is made of 1 character: 招 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 招 an HSK word?
Yes. 招 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 招聘 and 招生?
招聘 (zhāopìn) means to recruit employees for a job. 招生 (zhāoshēng) means a school is enrolling new students. Both use 招 in the sense of drawing people in.
How is 招 used to mean a move or trick?
As a noun, 招 can mean a move in chess or martial arts, or a clever method. You may hear 这一招很厉害 (zhè yì zhāo hěn lìhai), meaning this move is really impressive. It is common in casual speech.