使

• 拼音: shǐ
• 汉字拆解: 使 = 亻(person) + 吏 (official), originally meaning to send on a mission; extended to mean to cause or to make

含义

To make; to cause; to enable. A formal causative verb indicating that one thing causes another to happen.

A literary and formal causative verb used in the pattern 使 + object + verb/adjective (使人高兴 = make people happy, 使生活更好 = make life better). More formal than 让 (which has the same meaning but is more colloquial). Very common in written Chinese, news, speeches, and formal contexts. Also appears in compound words: 使用 (to use), 大使 (ambassador).

例句

1. 这件事使他非常生气。
2. 老师的鼓励使我更加努力学习。
3. 科技的发展使我们的生活更方便了。

用法指南

语境: writing, news, formal speech, academic

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 这个消息使大家都很高兴。(This news made everyone very happy.)
• 运动使身体更健康。(Exercise makes the body healthier.)

错误说法

• 你使我去买菜。(In casual conversation, don't use 使 to ask someone to do something — use 让 instead. 使 is for describing causation, not giving instructions.)

起源与历史

使 originally depicted a person (亻) being sent on a mission (吏 = official/envoy). The sense of directing or causing someone to do something evolved into the general causative meaning.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal