招 (zhāo): to recruit, 招手
招 (zhāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to recruit, 招手.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 召 (structural). It ranks #941 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 招 a call 召 to arms 扌; 召 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to recruit, 招手
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA call 召 to arms 扌; 召 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰扌召 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 招 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 招
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 招待verb | zhāo dài | to hold a reception | 6 |
| 打招呼 | dǎ zhāo hu | to greet sb by word or action | 4 |
| 招聘verb | zhāo pìn | to invite applications for a job | 4 |
| 招手verb | zhāo shǒu | to wave | 6 |
| 招收verb | zhāo shōu | to hire | 6 |
| 招生 | zhāo shēng | to enroll new students | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 招呼 | zhāo hu | to call out to |
| 招供 | zhāo gòng | to confess |
| 招募 | zhāo mù | to recruit |
| 招待会 | zhāo dài huì | a reception |
| 招牌 | zhāo pai | signboard |
| 花招 | huā zhāo | trick |
| 耍花招 | shuǎ huā zhāo | to play tricks on sb |
| 招惹 | zhāo rě | to court (trouble) |
| 招数 | zhāo shù | move (in chess, on stage, in martial arts) |
| 招摇 | zhāo yáo | to rock back and forth |
| 绝招 | jué zhāo | unique skill |
| 招揽 | zhāo lǎn | to attract (customers) |
| 招领 | zhāo lǐng | to advertise for the owner of lost property |
| 招来 | zhāo lái | to attract |
| 招致 | zhāo zhì | to recruit (followers) |
招 appears in 100 compound words: 71 as the first character, 19 as the last, and 10 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 招 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (17)
to confess without being pressed; to make a willing confession; to give oneself away
the eye incites, the heart invites (idiom); flirtatious; making eyes at sb
to raise or enlarge an army by recruiting soldiers and buying horses; to rally people or to enlarge an organization
lit. (of a flower) to attract bees and butterflies (idiom); fig. to flirt
to raise or enlarge an army by recruiting soldiers and buying horses; to rally people or to enlarge an organization
Showing 12 of 17 idioms containing 招.
Example Sentences
公司正在招聘软件工程师，要求有三年以上工作经验。
Gōngsī zhèngzài zhāopìn ruǎnjiàn gōngchéngshī, yāoqiú yǒu sān nián yǐshàng gōngzuò jīngyàn.
The company is recruiting software engineers, requiring more than three years of work experience.
...!拿到紅包「1動作」旺整年 2吉時祭拜最招財
. . . ! ná dào 紅 bāo 動 zuò wàng zhěng nián jí 時 jì bài zuì zhāo 財
...! One Action to Bring Prosperity All Year After Receiving Red Envelopes Two Auspicious Times for Worship to Maximize Wealth
悉尼中国文化中心2026新春招待会暨部省合作启动仪式举行
xī ní zhōng guó wén huà zhōng xīn xīn chūn zhāo dài huì 暨 bù shěng gě zuò qǐ dòng yí shì jǔ háng
Sydney Chinese Cultural Center 2026 Lunar New Year Reception and Launching Ceremony of Ministry-Provincial Cooperation
開工日不想上班?內行曝1招春節連假「再放7天」
開 gōng rì bù xiǎng shàng bān ? 內 háng pù zhāo chūn 節 連 jiǎ zài fàng tiān
Don't want to work on the opening day? Insiders reveal a way to take another 7 days of Spring Festival vacation.
...園冀2035前創10萬職位 馬惟善:今年招商引資 打造灣區橋頭堡
. . . 園 冀 qián 創 萬 職 wèi 馬 惟 shàn jīn nián zhāo shāng yǐn 資 dǎ zào 灣 區 橋 頭 bǎo
... Park Ji 2035 before the creation of 100,000 jobs Ma Weishan: this year's investment to create a bridgehead in the Bay Area
退休僅存20萬 大叔靠這2招10年後抱千萬
tuì xiū 僅 cún 萬 dà shū kào 這 zhāo nián 後 bào qiān 萬
Retired with only $200,000 in savings, this is how an old man can get his hands on $10 million in 10 years.
失物招领处在哪儿？
Shīwùzhāolǐng chǔzài nǎr?
Where is the lost and found?
你曾经用德语和那棵小桃树打过招呼吗？
Nǐ céngjīng yòng Déyǔ hé nà kē xiǎo táoshù dǎ guòzhāo hū ma?
Have you ever greeted the small peach tree in German?
做餐馆服务员啊、酒吧招待员啊，都可以。
Zuò cānguǎn fúwùyuán ā, jiǔbā zhāodàiyuán ā, dōu kěyǐ.
Either as a waiter at a restaurant or a bartender, both are OK.
他们昨晚设宴招待了我们。
Tāmen zuówǎn shè yàn zhāodài le wǒmen.
They entertained us at dinner last night.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 招 (zhāo) mean in Chinese?
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What are common words containing 招?
What characters sound the same as 招 (zhāo)?
Is 招 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 招 with real-time feedback
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