Chinese word

糟

Pronunciation

Pinyinzāo

Meaning

  • interjectionoh no

Example

哎，糟了，我赶不上火车。āi zāo le wǒ gǎn bú shàng huǒ chē

Oh no, I can't catch the train.

Illustration for 糟 (oh no)

More examples

哎，糟了，手机没电了。āi zāo le shǒu jī méi diàn le

Oh no, my phone has run out of battery.

Core concept

The unpleasant residue of a process, or the abrupt realization that a situation has produced a bad result.

Common phrases

  • 糟了zāo le

    oh no

Similar words

糟了zāo le: A worried cry on suddenly realizing that a problem has occurred.
哎呀āi yā: A brief exclamation of mild surprise or regret after a small mishap.

Definition in Chinese

用作感叹词，表示突然发现不好的情况或遇到麻烦时的懊悔或惊讶。yòng zuò gǎn tàn cí biǎo shì tū rán fā xiàn bù hǎo de qíng kuàng huò yù dào má fán shí de ào huǐ huò jīng yà

Word origin

糟 (zāo, "dregs; bad") developed from the name for grain residue after fermentation, linking the concrete sense of lees with the broader sense of something going badly.

Usage tips

  • The word is especially useful for an immediate spoken reaction when a plan, schedule, or everyday task suddenly goes wrong, rather than for calmly describing an existing condition.

Other meanings

  • terribleadjective
  • leesnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word