Meaning of 造
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to make
- to build
- to manufacture
- to invent
- to fabricate
- to go to
- party (in a lawsuit or legal agreement)
- crop
How to use 造
造 alone means to make or build, often for big things like houses, bridges, ships, or sentences. It appears most often in compounds such as 制造 (zhìzào), 创造 (chuàngzào), and 造成 (zàochéng). Example: 这座桥是去年造的。(Zhè zuò qiáo shì qùnián zào de.) This bridge was built last year.
造 combines 辶 (walking) with 告 (gào, to tell). Picture someone walking around telling workers what to build, so things get made.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 造 (zào) with 告 (gào) because they share the same inner part. 告 has no walking radical and means to tell, while 造 has 辶 and means to make. Also keep the fourth tone and do not say zǎo, which is 早 (early).
造 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.
造 zào · to make · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 造.
| 造成 | zàochéng | to bring about; to create; to cause |
| 创造 | chuàngzào | to create; to bring about |
| 制造 | zhìzào | to manufacture; to make |
| 改造 | gǎizào | to transform; to reform |
| 造型 | zàoxíng | to model; to shape; appearance; style; design; form; pose |
| 构造 | gòuzào | structure; composition |
| 建造 | jiànzào | to construct; to build |
| 打造 | dǎzào | to forge (metal); (fig.) to create; to build; to develop |
| 伪造 | wěizào | to forge; to fake |
| 人造 | rénzào | man-made; artificial |
| 造就 | zàojiù | to bring up; to train |
| 塑造 | sùzào | to model; to mold; (fig.) to create (a character, a market, an image etc) |
Questions about 造
What does 造 mean?
造 (zào) means "to make; to build" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 造?
造 is made of 1 character: 造 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 造 an HSK word?
Yes. 造 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 造 and 做?
做 (zuò) is the everyday verb for making or doing things, like 做饭 (zuòfàn, to cook). 造 is used for building or creating something large or new, like 造房子 (zào fángzi, to build a house) or 造句 (zàojù, to make a sentence).
Does 造成 have a positive or negative meaning?
造成 (zàochéng) usually goes with negative results, such as 造成问题 (zàochéng wèntí, to cause problems) or 造成损失 (to cause losses). For positive creation, 创造 (chuàngzào) is more natural.