Z

zá 杂 TRAD 雜 ADJ miscellaneous, sundry, all sorts of ■ 我还有些杂事要办完才能回家。Wǒ hái yǒu xiē
zá shì yào bànwán cái néng huí jiā. I still have some miscellaneous things to deal with before I can
go home.
záfèi 杂费 N sundry charges
zájì 杂技 [modif: 杂 miscellaneous + 技 skills] N acrobatics ■ 听说中国的杂技很有名。Tīngshuō
Zhōngguó de zájì hěn yǒumíng. I’ve heard people say that Chinese acrobatics are very famous 杂
技团 zájìtuán acrobatics troupe / 杂技演员 zájì yǎnyuán acrobat
zájiāo 杂交 V hybridize, crossbreed
zázhì 杂志 [modif: 杂 miscellaneous + 志 record] N magazine (本 běn, 种 zhǒng) ■ 他订了两种杂
志。Tā dìngle liǎng zhǒng zázhì. He subscribes to two magazines.
zá 砸 V 1 pound, tamp 2 break, smash
zǎ 咋 ADV how, why (Only used as a dialectal word.)
zāi 灾 TRAD 災 N disaster, calamity ■ 中国每年都 有地方受灾。Zhōngguó měi nián dōu yǒu dìfang
shòu zāi. Every year there are places in China that are hit by calamities. 火灾 huǒzāi fire disaster,
fire / 水灾 shuǐzāi flooding, floods
zāihài 灾害 [comp: 灾 disaster + 害 damage] N disaster, calamity ■ 由于各种灾害，全国每年损 失几
千亿元。Yóuyú gè zhǒng zāihài, quánguó měi nián sǔnshī jǐ qiān yì yuán. Owing to disasters of
all kinds the country loses hundreds of billions of dollars every year. 自然灾害 zìrán zāihài natural
disaster
zāinàn 灾难 N great suffering caused by a natural disaster, calamity (场 cháng) 灾难性后果 zāinànxìng
hòuguǒ disastrous consequences
zāi 栽 V plant
zāipéi 栽培 [comp: 栽 plant + 培 cultivate] V cultivate and grow
zǎi 宰 V 1 slaughter 2 overcharge, fleece ■ 你挨宰 了！Nǐ āi zǎi le! You were fleeced!
zài 再 ADV again ■ 我没听清楚，请您再说一遍。 Wǒ méi tīng qīngchu, qǐng nín zài shuō yí biàn. I
did not hear it clearly. Please say it again. ■ 你的 电脑修好了，要是再坏，我就没有办法了。
Nǐ de diànnǎo xiūhǎo le, yàoshì zài huài, wǒ jiù méiyǒu bànfǎ le. Your computer has been
repaired. If it breaks down again, there’ll be nothing I can do.
NOTE: 再 zài and 又 yòu are both glossed as again, but they have different usage: 又 yòu is used in the
context of a past situation while 再 zài is used for a future situation. Here is another pair of examples: ■
她昨天又迟到了。Tā zuótiān yòu chídào le. She was late (for work, school, etc.) again yesterday. ■ 明天你不要
再迟到了。Míngtiān nǐ bú yào zài chídào le. Please do not be late again tomorrow.

zàijiàn 再见 [modif: 再 again + 见 see] V see you again, goodbye ■ “我回家了，再见！”“再 见，明
天见。” “Wǒ huíjiā le, zàijiàn!” “Zàijiàn, míngtiān jiàn.” “I’m going home, goodbye!” “Bye! See
you tomorrow.”
zài jiē zài lì 再接再厉 V make persistent efforts, continue to exert oneself, persevere
zàisān 再三 [comp: 再 again + 三 three (times)] ADV over and over again ■ 她再三要求，才让她 参加
了考试。Tā zàisān yāoqiú, cái ràng tā cānjiā le kǎoshì. It was only after her repeated requests
that she was allowed to sit for the examination.
zài 在¹ I PREP in, on, at ■ 在新加坡很多人会说中 文。Zài Xīnjiāpō hěn duō rén huì shuō Zhōngwén.
In Singapore many people speak Chinese. ■ 我 在两年以前开始学中文。Wǒ zài liǎngnián yǐqián
kāishǐ xué Zhōngwén. I began to learn Chinese two years ago. II V be in ■ 你爸爸在家吗？他不 在
家。“Nǐ bàba zài jiā ma?” “Tā bú zài jiā.” “Is your father home?” “No, he isn’t.” ■ “小明在哪
里？”“他在操场上。”“Xiǎo Míng zài nǎlǐ?” “Tā zài cāochàng shang.” “Where’s Xiao
Ming?” “He’s on the sports ground.” 在 ... 里 zài ... li in ■ 他在房间里休息。Tā zài fángjiān li