zhào piàn
photograph
我有一张照片。
wǒ yǒu yī zhāng zhàopiàn.
I have a photo.
这张照片拍得很好。
zhè zhāng zhàopiàn pāi dé hěn hǎo.
This photo is taken very well.
你能帮我拍一张照片吗？
nǐ néng bāng wǒ pāi yī zhāng zhàopiàn ma?
Can you help me take a photo?
相片 (xiàngpiàn)
photograph
图片 (túpiàn)
picture
素描 (sùmiáo)
sketch
油画 (yóuhuà)
oil painting
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The Chinese word 照片 (zhàopiàn) for "photograph" is a compound of two characters: 照 (zhào) and 片 (piàn). The character 照 originally meant "to shine" or "to illuminate", and was later extended to mean "to take a picture". The character 片 originally meant "a piece" or "a slice", and was later extended to mean "a photograph". The combination of these two characters creates the word 照片, which literally means "a slice of light", referring to the way that a photograph captures a moment in time.
