Meaning
catch; receive; suffer; part. indicates the successful result of a verb; to touch; to come in contact with
Chinese: 助词，表示动作持续或状态存在。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “zhe” becomes a different word in each tone. 着 is the 5. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Note: 着 itself is the neutral (light) tone — short and unstressed.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 接着jiē zheto catch and hold on; to continue; to go on to do sth; to follow
- 着急zháo jíto worry; to feel anxious; to feel a sense of urgency; to be in a hurry
- 有着yǒu zheto have; to possess
- 睡着shuì zháoto fall asleep
- 随着suí zhealong with; in the wake of; following
Example Sentence
他笑着向我打招呼。Tā xiào zhe xiàng wǒ dǎ zhāo hu.He greeted me with a smile.
他Tāhe笑xiàoto laugh着zhe(ongoing action)向xiàngtoward我wǒI打招呼dǎ zhāo huto greet sb by word or act。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A variant of 著. Read zhe it is the particle marking an ongoing state (走着 walking, 开着 open); zháo means ‘to be hit/affected, to catch’; zhuó means ‘to wear, apply’.
A way to remember it
The ‘-ing’ particle 着: 笑着 (smiling), 等着 (waiting).