Meaning of 操作
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to work
- to operate
- to manipulate
How to use 操作
操作 is used for running machines, software, equipment, or a procedure, and it is also common as a noun meaning operation. You will see it in phrases like 操作系统 (cāozuò xìtǒng, operating system) and 操作简单 (simple to operate). Example: 这台机器很容易操作。(Zhè tái jīqì hěn róngyì cāozuò.) This machine is easy to operate.
操 (cāo) has the hand radical 扌, so picture a hand gripping the controls, and 作 (zuò) means to do or make. A hand on the controls doing the work is 操作, to operate.
Common mistake: Learners often say 工作 (gōngzuò) when they mean operating a device, but 工作 is about doing a job or a machine functioning by itself, while 操作 means a person controlling it. Also note that 操 is first tone cāo, not cào.
操作 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.
操 cāo · to conduct · 16 strokes
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作 zuò · to do · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 操作.
| 工作 | gōngzuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate |
| 动作 | dòngzuò | movement; motion; action; to act; to move |
| 作用 | zuòyòng | to act on; to affect; action; function; activity |
| 作家 | zuòjiā | author |
| 作业 | zuòyè | school assignment; homework |
| 叫作 | jiàozuò | to call; to be called |
| 作文 | zuòwén | to write an essay; composition (student essay) |
| 合作 | hézuò | to cooperate; to collaborate; to work together |
| 作品 | zuòpǐn | work (of art); opus |
| 制作 | zhìzuò | to make; to manufacture |
| 作者 | zuòzhě | author; writer |
| 创作 | chuàngzuò | to create; to produce; to write; a creative work; a creation |
Questions about 操作
What does 操作 mean?
操作 (cāozuò) means "to work; to operate" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 操作?
操作 is made of 2 characters: 操 (16 strokes), 作 (7 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 操作 an HSK word?
Yes. 操作 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 操作 mean to manipulate in a negative sense?
Yes, it can describe manipulating things behind the scenes, such as 暗箱操作 (àn xiāng cāozuò), shady backroom dealings. In everyday speech, though, it mostly means operating something in a neutral way.
What is the difference between 操作 and 使用?
使用 (shǐyòng) simply means to use something. 操作 stresses the steps and skill of controlling it, so you 使用 a pen but 操作 a machine or a computer program.