DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

作用

Mandarin · pinyin zuò yòng

to act on; to affect
action; function; activity
impact; result; effect
purpose; intent
(suffix) -ation, -tion etc, as in 抑制作用 yì zhì zuò yòng, inhibition

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Characters in this entry

作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
用: yòng · use, employ, apply, operate; use

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · zuo4 yong4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zok3 jung6

Cantonese word readings for 作用. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

function; role; purpose
effect; action

verb

to act on; to affect

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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