zāo gāo
how terrible; what bad luck; too bad
Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.
Step-by-step stroke order animations
Native speaker audio pronunciation
Interactive writing recognition
糟糕，我忘记带钥匙了。
zāo gāo, wǒ wàng jì dài yào shi le.
Oh no, I forgot to bring my keys.
糟糕，考试不及格了。
zāo gāo, kǎo shì bù jí gé le.
Oh no, I failed the exam.
糟糕，钱包丢了。
zāo gāo, qián bāo diū le.
Oh no, I lost my wallet.
不好 (bù hǎo)
bad
很差 (hěn chà)
very bad
好 (hǎo)
good
棒 (bàng)
great
The Chinese word 糟糕 (zāo gāo) is an interesting example of how characters can combine to create new meanings. The first character, 糟 (zāo), originally meant "dregs" or "sediment," and was often used in a negative sense. The second character, 糕 (gāo), originally meant "cake" or "pastry," and was often used in a positive sense. However, when these two characters are combined, the meaning changes completely. 糟糕 now means "bad" or "terrible," and is often used to express disappointment or frustration.The etymology of 糟糕 is a reminder that the meaning of a Chinese character can change dramatically depending on the context in which it is used. It is also a reminder that the Chinese language is constantly evolving, and new words and meanings are being created all the time.
