Dictionary › 作用

作用

zuò yòng

Old HSK 3 HSK 3.0 level 4 2-character word

作用 (zuò yòng) means "effect; function; role". It is an HSK 3.0 level 4 word, and was HSK 3 in the old six-level list.

What 作用 means

1. to act on; to affect
2. action; function; activity
3. impact; result; effect
4. purpose; intent
5. (suffix) -ation, -tion etc, as in {抑制作用|yì zhì zuò yòng}, inhibition

The characters in 作用

• 作zuòto do; to engage in; to write; to compose; to pretend; to feign
• 用yòngto use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need…

Example sentences

• 它现在起作用了。
  Tā xiànzài qǐzuòyòng le.
  It works now.
• 这药没有副作用。
  Zhè yào méiyǒu fùzuòyòng.
  This medicine has no side effects.
• 毛巾完全没起作用。
  The towel wasn't useful at all.

Words starting with 作用

• 作用力zuò yòng lì(physics) action force
• 作用域zuò yòng yù(computing) scope
• 作用域链zuò yòng yù liàn(computing) scope chain

Words containing 作用

• 副作用fù zuò yòngside effect
• 起作用qǐ zuò yòngto have an effect; to play a role; to be operative
• 相互作用xiāng hù zuò yòngto interact; interaction; interplay
• 有作用yǒu zuò yòngeffective; to have impact
• 心理作用xīn lǐ zuò yònga perception that doesn't reflect reality; a notion based on an erroneous belief
• 同化作用tóng huà zuò yòngassimilation; anabolism (biology); constructive metabolism…
• 分解作用fēn jiě zuò yòngdecomposition
• 协同作用xié tóng zuò yòngsynergy; cooperative interaction
• 强作用qiáng zuò yòngstrong interaction (governing hadrons in nuclear physics)
• 强作用力qiáng zuò yòng lìthe strong force (in nuclear physics)
• 反作用fǎn zuò yòng(physics) reaction; (fig.) backlash; unintended consequence
• 反作用力fǎn zuò yòng lì(physics) reaction force
• 变质作用biàn zhì zuò yòngmetamorphism (geology)
• 全局作用域quán jú zuò yòng yù(computing) global scope
• 局部作用域jú bù zuò yòng yù(computing) local scope
• 风化作用fēng huà zuò yòngweathering (of rocks); erosion (by wind etc)
• 光化作用guāng huà zuò yòngphotochemical effect; photosynthesis; photolysis
• 光合作用guāng hé zuò yòngphotosynthesis
• 超距作用chāo jù zuò yòngaction at a distance (e.g. gravitational force)
• 造山作用zào shān zuò yòngorogeny (geology)
• 强相互作用qiáng xiāng hù zuò yòngstrong interaction (in particle physics); strong force
• 核相互作用hé xiāng hù zuò yòngnuclear interaction
• 反射作用fǎn shè zuò yòngreflex; reflection
• 异化作用yì huà zuò yòngcatabolism (biology); metabolic breaking down and waste disposal; dissimilation

Where 作用 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Achievement, Change & Progress (HSK 3), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 3 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read zuò yòng correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.