Chinese word

肇事

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhào shì

Meaning

  • verbcause an accident

Example

他酒后在路上肇事，被警察带走了。tā jiǔ hòu zài lù shàng zhào shì bèi jǐng chá dài zǒu le

After drinking, he caused an accident on the road, and the police took him away.

Illustration for 肇事 (cause an accident)

More examples

警方确认那辆车在高速上肇事，司机已被控制。jǐng fāng què rèn nà liàng chē zài gāo sù shàng zhào shì sī jī yǐ bèi kòng zhì

Police confirmed that the car caused an accident on the highway, and the driver has been detained.

Core concept

An action that sets an accident or damaging incident in motion.

Common phrases

  • 交通肇事jiāo tōng zhào shì

    cause a traffic accident

  • 酒后肇事jiǔ hòu zhào shì

    cause an accident after drinking

  • 肇事逃逸zhào shì táo yì

    cause an accident and flee

Similar words

出事chū shì: Have an accident or other serious problem happen.
发生fā shēng: Happen or take place, including an event or accident.
造成zào chéng: Cause damage or another harmful result.
撞zhuàng: Hit a person or object by colliding with it.

Definition in Chinese

因过失、疏忽或其他行为导致交通或其他事故发生，造成损害的行为或情形yīn guò shī shū hū huò qí tā xíng wéi dǎo zhì jiāo tōng huò qí tā shì gù fā shēng zào chéng sǔn hài de xíng wéi huò qíng xíng

Word origin

肇 (zhào, "to initiate") + 事 (shì, "an affair") points to starting an event, a meaning that developed into causing an accident or harmful incident.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this formal report-style verb is often replaced by a specific description of what happened, while it remains useful for understanding news and legal language.

Other meanings

  • cause an incidentverb
  • cause troubleverb

Related words

  • 肇事者zhào shì zhěperson who caused the accidentnoun
  • 交通肇事罪jiāo tōng zhào shì zuìtraffic accident offensenoun
  • 肇事逃逸zhào shì táo yìcause an accident and fleeverb

Word lists with this word