厂

• Pinyin: chǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 厂 = simplified from 廠; the radical 厂 represents a cliff or open structure, used as a semantic component in many characters

Meaning

Factory; plant; works. A place where goods are manufactured or processed.

A simplified form commonly used as a suffix in compound words: 工厂 (factory), 钢厂 (steel plant), 啤酒厂 (brewery). Can be used alone in casual speech to mean factory, though 工厂 is more common in formal contexts.

Examples

1. 这个厂有五百多个工人。 This factory has over five hundred workers.
2. 爸爸在一家汽车厂工作了十多年。 Dad has worked at a car factory for more than ten years.
3. 那家旧厂已经关了，现在变成了商场。 That old factory has been closed and is now a shopping centre.

Usage Guide

Context: industry, work, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他在厂里干了二十年了。(He has worked in the factory for twenty years.)
• 这家工厂生产手机零件。(This factory produces mobile phone parts.)

Don't Say

• 去厂买东西 (Don't say 去厂 to mean going shopping — factories are production sites, not shops; say 去商店买东西)

Origin & History

Simplified from 廠. The simplified form 厂 originally represented a cliff or open shed. In its full form, it depicted a building where work was done.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal