Chinese word

招

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhāo

Meaning

  • verbinvite

Example

他把朋友招到家里吃饭。tā bǎ péng yǒu zhāo dào jiā lǐ chī fàn

He invited his friend home for a meal.

Illustration for 招 (invite)

More examples

公司正在招聘人才。gōng sī zhèng zài zhāo pìn rén cái

The company is recruiting talent.

Core concept

A gesture or action that brings a person toward the speaker, then extends to bringing people in for a role or purpose.

Common phrases

  • 招聘人才zhāo pìn rén cái

    recruit talent

  • 招收学生zhāo shōu xué shēng

    recruit students

  • 招待客人zhāo dài kè rén

    entertain guests

Similar words

请qǐng: To make a polite request for someone to come or take part.
邀请yāo qǐng: To invite someone officially to a meeting, event, or ceremony.
叫jiào: To use the voice to get someone's attention and call them over.
招待zhāo dài: To invite guests and take care of them during their visit.

Definition in Chinese

表示召唤或邀请某人到来，延伸可指招募或吸引他人。biǎo shì zhào huàn huò yāo qǐng mǒu rén dào lái yán shēn kě zhǐ zhāo mù huò xī yǐn tā rén

Word origin

招 (zhāo, "to beckon") is a phono-semantic character formed from 扌 (shǒu, "hand") and 召 (zhào, "summon"), linking a hand gesture with the act of calling someone over.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may treat every invitation as equally polite, but this verb can sound more like actively drawing someone in, especially when a person is brought to a place or group.

Other meanings

  • beckonverb
  • recruitverb
  • attractverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word