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操

cāo
verb #832

Meanings

  1. 1 to operate
  2. 2 to exercise
  3. 3 conduct

Examples

HSK 4
学生们在操场上做早操。
Xuésheng men zài cāochǎng shàng zuò zǎocāo.
Students gather on the playground for morning exercises.
HSK 5
操作这台机器需要专业培训。
Cāozuò zhètái jīqì xūyào zhuānyè péixùn.
Workers need professional training to operate this machine.
HSK 5
她每天早上做体操保持健康。
Tā měitiān zǎoshang zuò tǐcāo bǎochí jiànkāng.
She does gymnastics every morning to stay fit.

Tips

usage
扌 (hand) + 喿 - hands doing exercises or operating.
register
A second reading cào is a crude expletive, very common in casual online writing, where it is often softened to the respelling 卧槽. None of the ordinary senses take that reading: operating, drilling and exercise are all cāo.

Components

radical
扌 shǒu
hand
Left-side hand radical, side-form of 手 - the indexing radical. Marks 操 as a hand-action: handling, manipulating, drilling, exercising. Same family: 操作 operate, 操练 drill, 体操 gymnastics, 操心 worry (literally 'handle the heart'). Whatever 操 names, a hand is doing it.
phonetic
喿 zào
noisy birds (here phonetic)
Right side 喿 supplies the sound - zào → cāo, sibilant shift. 喿 is a vivid composite: three 口 mouths over a 木 tree, picturing a flock of birds chattering in the branches. 'Noisy commotion' faintly links to a busy hand-task. Same phonetic in 燥 (dry), 噪 (clamor), 澡 (bathe).

Stroke Order

操 cāo