执照

• Pinyin: zhí zhào
• Hanzi breakdown: 执 = 扌+ 丸 (hold); 照 = 日 + 召 (illuminate/certificate)

Meaning

A licence; an official permit authorising someone to do something. A formal document granting legal permission.

Used for various official permits: 营业执照 (business licence), 驾驶执照 (driving licence, more formal than 驾照), 行医执照 (medical licence). Implies governmental authorisation and regulatory compliance.

Examples

1. 开餐厅必须先申请营业执照，否则属于无证经营。 To open a restaurant, you must first apply for a business license; otherwise, you’re operating without a license.
2. 他考取了飞行执照，实现了儿时的梦想。 He earned his pilot’s license, fulfilling a childhood dream.
3. 这家诊所因执照过期被责令暂停营业。 The clinic was ordered to suspend operations because its license had expired.

Usage Guide

Context: business, legal, professional

Tone: official

Do Say

• 申请人需提交相关材料，方可办理执照变更手续。(Applicants must submit relevant documents to process licence changes.)
• 无证经营将面临吊销执照和高额罚款的处罚。(Operating without a licence will result in licence revocation and heavy fines.)

Don't Say

• 我有一个游泳执照 — swimming certificates are typically called 证书 or 资格证; 执照 is for legally required permits

Origin & History

执 (hold/implement) + 照 (certificate/document) — a document one holds as authorisation

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal