zhào
take (a photo)
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我照镜子了。
wǒ zhào jìngzi le.
I looked in the mirror.
他照相了。
tā zhàoxiàng le.
He took a picture.
她照亮了房间。
tā zhàoliàng le fángjiān.
She lit up the room.
暗 (àn)
dark
黑 (hēi)
black
The Chinese character 照 (zhào) is composed of two parts: 日 (rì), meaning "sun", and 召 (zhào), meaning "to call" or "to summon". The combination of these two characters suggests the idea of "calling forth the sun", which is interpreted as "to illuminate" or "to shine".The character 照 has been used in Chinese for thousands of years, and its meaning has evolved over time. In ancient Chinese, 照 was primarily used to refer to the physical act of shining or illuminating. For example, the phrase 日照大地 (rì zhào dàdì) means "the sun shines on the earth".Over time, the meaning of 照 expanded to include more abstract concepts. For example, 照顾 (zhàogù) means "to take care of" or "to look after", and 照相 (zhàoxiàng) means "to take a photograph". In these cases, the character 照 is used to convey the idea of "looking at" or "observing".The character 照 is also used in a number of idioms and proverbs. For example, the idiom 照猫画虎 (zhào māo huà hǔ) means "to copy blindly", and the proverb 人无远虑,必有近忧 (rén wú yuǎnlǜ, bì yǒu jìnyōu) means "if you don't think ahead, you'll have trouble in the future".In summary, the Chinese character 照 has a rich history and a wide range of meanings. It is a versatile character that can be used to express a variety of ideas and concepts.