组 zǔ — to form; compose; make up; group; to organize; cord
老师把我们分成了四个小组。Lǎo shī bǎ wǒ men fēn chéng le sì ge xiǎo zǔ.The teacher divided us into four small groups.
Common words: 小组 (xiǎo zǔ)、组成 (zǔ chéng)、组长 (zǔ zhǎng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to form"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to form", including 组 (zǔ), 构 (gòu). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to form" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 组 (zǔ), 构 (gòu) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span zǔ, gòu — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 组 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 组 zǔto form; compose; make up; group; to organize; cordUseful words: 小组, 组成
- 构 gòuBroussonetia papyrifera; to construct; to form; to make up; to composeUseful words: 机构, 结构
Common words for these 2 "to form" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 组 (zǔ) — so "to form" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to form".
构 gòu — Broussonetia papyrifera; to construct; to form; to make up; to compose
这座房子的结构很坚固。Zhè zuò fáng zi de jié gòu hěn jiān gù.The structure of this house is very solid.
Common words: 机构 (jī gòu)、结构 (jié gòu)、构成 (gòu chéng)
All 2 characters
Open 组、构 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.