左 (zuǒ): left, the Left (politics), east, unorthodox, queer, wrong
左 (zuǒ) is a Chinese character meaning “left.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 工 (structural). It ranks #782 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 左 a left hand; compare 又. Its radical form 工 (work) appears in many related characters such as 工 (gōng, work), 差 (chā, difference), 巧 (qiǎo, opportunely).
Definitions
- left
- the Left (politics)
- east
- unorthodox
- queer
- wrong
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA left hand; compare 又
Stroke Order
Practice writing 左 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 左
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 左手noun | zuǒ shǒu | left hand |
| 左撇子noun | zuǒ piě zi | left-hander |
| 左侧noun | zuǒ cè | left side |
| 左轮手枪noun | zuǒ lún shǒu qiāng | revolver |
| 左翼noun | zuǒ yì | left-wing (political) |
| 左右手noun | zuǒ yòu shǒu | left and right hands |
| 左面noun | zuǒ miàn | left side |
| 左右为难phrase | zuǒ yòu wéi nán | (idiom) between a rock and a hard place |
| 相左verb | xiāng zuǒ | to fail to meet each other |
| 左膀右臂noun | zuǒ bǎng yòu bì | (idiom) trusted assistant |
| 左派noun | zuǒ pài | (political) left |
| 左上adjective | zuǒ shàng | upper left |
| 左倾verb | zuǒ qīng | left-leaning |
| 左右开弓 | zuǒ yòu kāi gōng | lit. to shoot from both sides (idiom) |
| 左岸noun | zuǒ àn | Left Bank (in Paris) |
左 appears in 89 compound words: 75 as the first character, 6 as the last, and 19 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 左 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (14)
Showing 10 of 14 idioms containing 左.
Example Sentences
他最喜欢的运动是游泳，每周都会去游泳馆几次。
Tā zuì xǐhuan de yùndòng shì yóuyǒng, měi zhōu dōu huì qù yóuyǒng guǎn jǐ cì.
His favorite sport is swimming, and he goes to the swimming pool several times every week.
男生小便完甩一下动作标准吗?向前轻弹比左右晃更有效吗
nán shēng xiǎo biàn wán shuǎi yī xià dòng zuò biāo zhǔn ma ? xiàng qián qīng dàn bǐ zuǒ yòu huǎng gēng yǒu xiào ma
Is it standard for guys to give a little flick after peeing? Is a quick forward flick more effective than shaking side to side?
NBA/太陽「惡棍」左手骨折休4至6週 主帥強調球隊風格不變
tài 陽 惡 gùn zuǒ shǒu gǔ zhé xiū zhì 週 zhǔ 帥 強 調 qiú 隊 風 gé bù 變
NBA/Suns' "Bad Boy" Suffers Left Wrist Fracture, Out 4-6 Weeks; Head Coach Stresses Team Style Remains Unchanged
左營港務隊偕領港高默契 精準控制軍港內「路...
zuǒ 營 gǎng 務 隊 偕 領 gǎng gāo mò qì jīng 準 kòng zhì 軍 gǎng 內 lù . . .
The Zuoying Port Team and the Pilot High have a tacit understanding to accurately control the "road...
打瘦瘦針釀眼出血? 醫揭62歲男左眼「全黑」:幾近失明
dǎ shòu shòu 針 釀 yǎn chū xiě ? 醫 jiē 歲 nán zuǒ yǎn quán hēi 幾 jìn shī míng
Skin-Thinning Injection Causes Eye Bleeding? Doctor Reveals 62-Year-Old Man's Left Eye "Completely Blackened": Nearly Blind
佘詩曼過年左擁右抱 將「小鮮肉」抱入懷中啜爆
佘 詩 曼 過 nián zuǒ 擁 yòu bào 將 xiǎo 鮮 ròu bào rù 懷 zhōng 啜 bào
Tavia Yeung was flanked on both sides during the Lunar New Year, pulling a "little fresh meat" into her arms and giving him a big kiss.
谁跟你说用左手写字的？
Shéi gēn nǐ shuō yòng zuǒshǒu xiězì de?
Who told you to write with your left hand?
我七点左右来就可以了吧？
Wǒ qī diǎn zuǒyòu lái jiù kěyǐ le ba?
Would it suffice if I came around 7?
能麻烦您等一个小时左右吗？
Néng máfan nín děng yī gè xiǎoshí zuǒyòu ma?
Can you wait about an hour?
你家的左边是什么？
Nǐ jiāde zuǒbian shì shénme?
What is to the left of your house?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 左 (zuǒ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 左 and 行?
How many strokes does 左 have?
What is the radical of 左?
What are the components of 左?
What are common words containing 左?
What characters sound the same as 左 (zuǒ)?
Is 左 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 左 with real-time feedback
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