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verb | 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verb | zhāo shēng | to enroll new students | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 招呼verb | zhāo hu | to call out to |
| 招供verb | zhāo gòng | to confess |
| 招募verb | zhāo mù | to recruit |
| 招待会noun | zhāo dài huì | a reception |
| 招牌noun | zhāo pai | signboard |
| 花招noun | huā zhāo | trick |
| 耍花招verb | shuǎ huā zhāo | to play tricks on sb |
| 招惹verb | zhāo rě | to court (trouble) |
| 招数noun | zhāo shù | move (in chess, on stage, in martial arts) |
| 招摇verb | zhāo yáo | to rock back and forth |
| 绝招noun | jué zhāo | unique skill |
| 招揽verb | zhāo lǎn | to attract (customers) |
| 招领verb | zhāo lǐng | to advertise for the owner of lost property |
| 招来verb | zhāo lái | to attract |
| 招致verb | zhāo zhì | to recruit (followers) |
招 appears in 101 compound words: 76 as the first character, 19 as the last, and 5 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 (18)
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
ushering in wealth and prosperity (idiom and traditional greeting, esp. at New Year); We wish you wealth and success!
to raise or enlarge an army by recruiting soldiers and buying horses; to rally people or to enlarge an organization
ushering in wealth and prosperity (idiom and traditional greeting, esp. at New Year); We wish you wealth and success!
Showing 12 of 18 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
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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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