左右

• 拼音: zuǒ yòu
• 汉字拆解: 左 = left hand radical + 工 (work), meaning left; 右 = right hand radical + 口 (mouth), meaning right

含义

Approximately; left and right. Indicates a rough estimate when placed after a number, or literally means both sides.

As a noun, 左右 literally means left and right, or both sides. When placed after a quantity, it means approximately or more or less. As a verb, it can mean to influence or control. Extremely common in everyday speech for giving estimates of time, money, or quantity.

例句

1. 从这里到学校大概需要二十分钟左右。
2. 过马路的时候要先左右看看。
3. 这件衣服三百块左右，不算太贵。

用法指南

语境: everyday, estimates, directions

语气: casual

正确说法

• 我们三点左右到吧。(Let's arrive around three o'clock.)
• 他的年龄在四十岁左右。(His age is around forty.)

错误说法

• 我左右不知道去哪里。(Don't use 左右 to mean anyway or regardless — for that meaning, use 反正 or 不管怎样)

起源与历史

Compound of 左 (left) and 右 (right). The approximate meaning developed naturally from the idea of being to the left or right of an exact number.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal