HSK 4 · Work

作家 zuòjiā “writer” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 作家 means

  1. writer
  2. author

Measure word 个 gè or 位 wèi · 一个作家 yí ge zuòjiā

How to say 作家

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale作zuò4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale家jiā1st tone, high and level

作家 in a sentence

  1. 他想成为一名作家。

    Tā xiǎng chéngwéi yì míng zuòjiā.

    He wants to become a writer.

    Sentence #10024458 from Tatoeba

  2. 我认为他是位伟大的作家。

    Wǒ rènwéi tā shì wèi wěidà de zuòjiā.

    I think he’s a great writer.

    Sentence #1446868 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他看起来像个运动员，但是其实是个作家。

    Tā kànqǐlai xiàng ge yùndòngyuán, dànshì qíshí shì ge zuòjiā.

    He looks like an athlete, but he’s actually a writer.

    Sentence #2194350 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 作家 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 作 (zuò) with each of its parts in a different colour
作zuòto do; to engage in
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 乍first time · zhà

Memory aidPerson 亻 with 乍 (zhà) for the sound: to make, to do.

The character 家 (jiā) with each of its parts in a different colour
家jiāhome
  • 宀roof · miánMeaning part
  • 豕pig · shǐSound part

宀 hints at the meaning (roof); 豕 (shǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with jiā.

Memory aidA pig 豕 under a roof 宀: a home, a family.

How to write 作家

作 7 strokes · 家 10 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

作家 (zuòjiā) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 作家 (zuòjiā). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 作家

Words with 作

工作gōngzuò · to work作业zuòyè · school assignment工作日gōngzuòrì · working day作者zuòzhě · author动作dòngzuò · movement作用zuòyòng · effect制作zhìzuò · to make写作xiězuò · writing作文zuòwén · to write an essay合作hézuò · to cooperate

Words with 家

家jiā · home家人jiārén · family member大家dàjiā · everyone国家guójiā · country画家huàjiā · painter搬家bānjiā · to move house家具jiājù · furniture家庭jiātíng · family家务jiāwù · household duties家乡jiāxiāng · hometown

More words: School, Work & Culture

演员yǎnyuán · actor or actress应聘yìngpìn · to apply for a job招聘zhāopìn · to invite applications for a job职业zhíyè · occupation表演biǎoyǎn · to perform法律fǎlǜ · law功夫gōngfu · time and effort规定guīdìng · to stipulate

FAQs

作家 (zuòjiā) means “writer” or “author”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it zuòjiā: zuò with a 4th tone, then jiā with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 作家 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè) or 位 (wèi). For example, one writer is 一个作家 (yí ge zuòjiā).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zuojia with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 作家 from the suggestions. Typing zuojia into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
作家 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.