措施

• Pinyin: cuò shī
• Hanzi breakdown: 措 = 扌(hand) + 昔 (past, phonetic); 施 = 方 (direction) + 也 (phonetic) with 亻radical

Meaning

Measure; step; action taken to deal with a situation. Typically refers to official or planned actions.

Most commonly used in formal contexts to describe policies, plans, or actions taken by governments, organisations, or institutions. Often collocates with 采取 (adopt/take), 安全 (safety), and 有效 (effective). Less common in casual daily conversation.

Examples

1. 学校采取了多项措施来保证学生的安全。 The school has adopted multiple measures to ensure student safety.
2. 为了减少污染，政府出台了一系列环保措施。 To reduce pollution, the government introduced a series of environmental measures.
3. 公司正在研究新的措施来提高工作效率。 The company is studying new measures to improve work efficiency.

Usage Guide

Context: policy, news, work

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 我们必须采取有效措施解决这个问题。(We must take effective measures to solve this problem.)
• 这些安全措施非常必要。(These safety measures are very necessary.)

Don't Say

• 在日常口语中用措施代替办法 (Don't use 措施 in casual speech where 办法 would be more natural — 措施 sounds too formal for everyday conversation)

Origin & History

措 (arrange/manage) + 施 (implement/carry out) — arrangements that are put into practice, i.e. concrete steps taken to address something.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal