Chinese word

照相

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhào xiàng

Meaning

  • verbtake pictures

Example

我们去公园照相吧。wǒ men qù gōng yuán zhào xiàng ba

Let's go to the park and take pictures.

Illustration for 照相 (take pictures)

More examples

昨天我和朋友一起照相。zuó tiān wǒ hé péng yǒu yì qǐ zhào xiàng

Yesterday I took pictures with my friends.

Core concept

A moment of seeing becomes a lasting visual record through light.

Common phrases

  • 和朋友照相hé péng yǒu zhào xiàng

    take pictures with friends

  • 和家人照相hé jiā rén zhào xiàng

    take pictures with family

Similar words

拍照pāi zhào: Using a camera or phone to take photographs, especially by pressing its shutter.

Definition in Chinese

用照相机、手机等通过光将人或物的影像记录下来的动作。yòng zhào xiàng jī shǒu jī děng tōng guò guāng jiāng rén huò wù de yǐng xiàng jì lù xià lái de dòng zuò

Word origin

The compound 照相 (zhàoxiàng, "take pictures") joins 照 (zhào, "shine on") and 相 (xiàng, "appearance"), so its parts point to making an appearance visible and lasting.

Usage tips

  • Chinese treats the action as a verb, while English may use a noun to name the activity or field, so the sentence role must be checked instead of relying on the English form.

Other meanings

  • photographynoun

Related words

  • 照相机zhào xiàng jīcameranoun
  • 照相馆zhào xiàng guǎnphoto studionoun

Word lists with this word