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造字

Mandarin · pinyin zào zì

to create Chinese characters
cf Six Methods of forming Chinese characters 六書 liù shū

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Characters in this entry

造: zào · construct, build, make, begin; prepare
字: zì · letter, character, word

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · zao4 zi4

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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

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

to create a Chinese character (or any type of character in general)
(typography) to draw a character

noun

created or made-up Chinese character (or any type of character in general)

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

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