Meaning of 照相
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to take a photograph
How to use 照相
照相 is a verb-object phrase meaning to take a picture, often of people. You can split it: 照个相 (zhào ge xiàng) or 照了一张相. Example: 我们在长城照相吧。(Wǒmen zài Chángchéng zhàoxiàng ba.) Let's take photos at the Great Wall.
照 (zhào) means to shine light on something, and 相 (xiàng) means a likeness or appearance. When you take a photo, light shines on you and captures your likeness.
Common mistake: In 照相, 相 is read xiàng (fourth tone), not xiāng as in 相信 (xiāngxìn). Learners also say 照相他 to mean 'photograph him', but since 照相 already has an object, say 给他照相 (gěi tā zhàoxiàng) instead.
照相 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.
照 zhào · according to · 13 strokes
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相 xiāng · mutual · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 照相.
| 相信 | xiāngxìn | to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true |
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photograph |
| 照顾 | zhàogù | to take care of; to show consideration |
| 相同 | xiāngtóng | identical; same |
| 护照 | hùzhào | passport |
| 相机 | xiàngjī | camera (abbr. for 照相機|照相机[zhao4 xiang4 ji1]); at the opportune moment |
| 相当 | xiāngdāng | equivalent to; appropriate |
| 互相 | hùxiāng | each other; mutually |
| 按照 | ànzhào | according to; in accordance with; on the basis of |
| 相关 | xiāngguān | related; relevant |
| 相互 | xiānghù | each other; mutual |
| 相似 | xiāngsì | similar; alike |
Questions about 照相
What does 照相 mean?
照相 (zhàoxiàng) means "to take a photograph".
How do you write 照相?
照相 is made of 2 characters: 照 (13 strokes), 相 (9 strokes). That is 22 strokes in total.
Is 照相 an HSK word?
Yes. 照相 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 照相 and 拍照?
Both mean to take a photo and are often interchangeable. 拍照 (pāizhào) is very common in modern speech, especially for phone photos, while 照相 can sound a little more traditional.
How do I ask someone to take a photo of me in Chinese?
You can say 能帮我照张相吗？(Néng bāng wǒ zhào zhāng xiàng ma?) meaning 'Could you take a photo for me?' The measure word 张 (zhāng) is used for photos.