抄

• Pinyin: chāo
• Hanzi breakdown: 抄 = 扌(hand) + 少 (few, phonetic component) — a hand action of copying

Meaning

To copy; to transcribe. The act of writing down something by hand from another source.

Can mean either legitimately copying text by hand (like taking notes or transcribing) or dishonestly copying others' work (cheating or plagiarizing). Context determines the connotation. Also used in the expression 抄近路 (take a shortcut).

Examples

1. 老师让我们把黑板上的笔记抄下来。 The teacher asked us to copy down the notes from the blackboard.
2. 考试的时候千万不能抄别人的答案。 You must never copy someone else's answers during an exam.
3. 她把那首诗抄在了笔记本上。 She copied that poem into her notebook.

Usage Guide

Context: education, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 请把这段话抄一遍。(Please copy this passage once.)
• 他上课总是认真抄笔记。(He always carefully copies down notes in class.)

Don't Say

• 你帮我抄一下这个文件 (For making photocopies, use 复印, not 抄 — 抄 means handwritten copying)

Origin & History

抄 = 扌(hand radical) + 少 (few, phonetic). The hand radical indicates a manual action — copying by hand.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal