奏 (zòu): to play music, to achieve, to present a memorial to the emperor (old)
奏 (zòu) is a Chinese character meaning “to play music.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 天 (structural). It ranks #1533 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 奏 a report about (above) the emperor 天. Its radical form 大 (big) appears in many related characters such as 大 (dà, big), 天 (tiān, day), 太 (tài, highest).
Definitions
- to play music
- to achieve
- to present a memorial to the emperor (old)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA report about (above) the emperor 天
Stroke Order
Practice writing 奏 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 奏
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 奏效 | zòu xiào | to show results |
| 弹奏 | tán zòu | to play (musical instrument, esp. string) |
| 伴奏 | bàn zòu | to accompany (musically) |
| 独奏 | dú zòu | solo |
| 协奏曲 | xié zòu qǔ | concerto |
| 前奏 | qián zòu | prelude |
| 奏乐 | zòu yuè | to perform music |
| 四重奏 | sì chóng zòu | quartet (musical ensemble) |
| 吹奏 | chuī zòu | to play (wind instruments) |
| 奏鸣曲 | zòu míng qǔ | sonata |
| 二重奏 | èr chóng zòu | duet (in music) |
| 合奏 | hé zòu | to perform music (as an ensemble) |
| 先斩后奏 | xiān zhǎn hòu zòu | lit. first execute the criminal, then report it to the emperor (idiom) |
| 变奏曲 | biàn zòu qǔ | variation (music) |
| 前奏曲 | qián zòu qǔ | prelude (music) |
奏 appears in 39 compound words: 15 as the first character, 64 as the last, and 21 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 奏 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
奏字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
zòu zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "奏" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
增国假奏效!年总工时止升回落
zēng guó jiǎ zòu xiào ! nián zǒng gōng shí zhǐ shēng huí luò
The increase in national holidays worked! The total annual working hours only rose and fell
...大地震将届满15周年 “海啸提琴”来台演奏
. . . dà dì zhèn jiāng jiè mǎn 1 5 zhōu nián hǎi xiào tí qín lái tái yǎn zòu
... The 15th anniversary of the earthquake "Tsunami Violin" came to Taiwan to play
...choes of the Unseen》奏出集体回忆 同场饱览27幅岳敏君真迹
. . . c h o e s o f t h e U n s e e n zòu chū jí tǐ huí yì tóng chǎng bǎo lǎn 2 7 fú yuè mǐn jūn zhēn jì
... choes of the Unseen" played collective memories and enjoyed 27 authentic works of Yue Minjun at the same time
...岁指挥家李疏瞳纽约车祸逝世 所在乐团以演奏中国音乐闻名
. . . suì zhǐ huī jiā lǐ shū 瞳 niǔ yuē chē huò shì shì suǒ zài lè tuán yǐ yǎn zòu zhōng guó yīn lè wén míng
... Conductor Li Shutong died in a car accident in New York The orchestra is famous for playing Chinese music
竹南国中智慧接送区 改善交通奏效
zhú nán guó zhōng zhì huì jiē sòng qū gǎi shàn jiāo tōng zòu xiào
Zhunan Junior High School Smart Pick-up and Drop-off Area Improving traffic is effective
鲍伯和玛丽演奏直笛。
Bàobó hé Mǎlì yǎnzòu zhídí .
Bob and Mary play the recorder.
你知道伦敦交响乐团的演奏会行程吗？
Nǐ zhīdào Lúndūn jiāoxiǎngyuètuán de yǎnzòu huì xíngchéng ma?
Do you know the concert schedule of London Symphony Orchestra?
你能演奏管风琴吗？
Nǐ néng yǎnzòu guǎnfēngqín ma?
Can you play the organ?
我希望你练习了你的长笛独奏！
Wǒ xīwàng nǐ liànxí le nǐ de chángdí dúzòu!
I hope you practiced your flute solo!
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 奏 (zòu) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 奏 have?
What is the radical of 奏?
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What are common words containing 奏?
What characters sound the same as 奏 (zòu)?
Is 奏 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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