拍照

• Pinyin: pāi zhào
• Hanzi breakdown: 拍 = 扌 (hand) + 白 (white/plain) — to strike or pat with the hand; 照 = 昭 (bright) + 灬 (fire) — to illuminate, hence to photograph

Meaning

To take a photo; to photograph. The act of capturing an image with a camera or phone.

A common verb-object compound used in everyday life. Can be used on its own (我来拍照) or with 给 to indicate photographing someone (给你拍照). Related expressions include 拍照片 (take photos), 自拍 (selfie), and 合拍 (group photo). In modern usage, almost always refers to phone photography.

Examples

1. 这里的风景太美了，我们一起拍照吧。 The scenery here is so beautiful — let's take a photo together.
2. 博物馆里不允许拍照，请注意。 Photography is not allowed in the museum — please take note.
3. 她很喜欢拍照，手机里存了几千张照片。 She loves taking photos — she has thousands of pictures saved on her phone.

Usage Guide

Context: travel, everyday, social media

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 你能帮我拍照吗？(Can you take a photo for me?)
• 我们在这儿拍张照吧。(Let's take a picture here.)

Don't Say

• 我要拍照这个东西 (Don't put an object directly after 拍照 — say 我要拍一下这个东西 or 我要给这个东西拍照; 拍照 is a verb-object compound)

Origin & History

A verb-object compound of 拍 (to pat/clap/shoot) and 照 (to shine/photograph) — to shoot a picture.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal