操控

• Pinyin: cāo kòng
• Hanzi breakdown: 操 = 扌(hand) + 喿 (phonetic); 控 = 扌(hand) + 空 (phonetic)

Meaning

To operate and control; to manipulate. Used for machines, systems, markets, or people.

Can be technical (操控无人机, operating a drone) or metaphorical and negative (操控舆论, manipulating public opinion; 操控选举, rigging an election). The negative sense is especially prominent in political and financial journalism.

Examples

1. 这款飞行模拟器的操控系统高度还原了真实飞机的驾驶感受。 The control system of this flight simulator highly replicates the feel of flying a real aircraft.
2. 监管机构调查发现，有机构通过多个账户联动操控股价，涉嫌市场操纵。 Regulators found in their investigation that certain institutions had colluded across multiple accounts to manipulate share prices, suspected of market manipulation.
3. 家长应引导孩子理性使用社交媒体，警惕算法对注意力的隐性操控。 Parents should guide children to use social media rationally and stay alert to algorithms' covert manipulation of attention.

Usage Guide

Context: technology, finance, politics, media, engineering

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这名飞手能够精准操控无人机完成复杂的航拍任务。(This pilot can precisely operate the drone to complete complex aerial photography tasks.)
• 舆论被少数人操控的现象在信息不透明的环境中尤为突出。(The phenomenon of public opinion being manipulated by a small number of people is especially prominent in environments with poor information transparency.)

Don't Say

• 他操控了一辆自行车。(操控 implies sophisticated or system-level control; for simply riding a bike use 骑)

Origin & History

操 (to handle, operate) + 控 (to control). Together they emphasise both the physical handling and the act of governing a system.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal