DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

起作用

Mandarin · pinyin qǐ zuò yòng

to have an effect
to play a role
to be operative
to work
to function

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

起: qǐ · rise, stand up; go up; begin
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.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–4–4 · qi3 zuo4 yong4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

起作用 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗