扎 (zā) · to tie; to bind; to bundle up

Meanings

1 to tie; to bind; to bundle up
2 classifier for bundles of flowers, banknotes, etc.

Characters

扎

zā

to tie; to bind; to bundle up

Examples

HSK 6

护士给他包扎伤口。

Hùshi gěi tā bāozā shāngkǒu.

The nurse bandaged his wound.

HSK 7-9

用扎带把这些电线捆起来。

Yòng zādài bǎ zhèxiē diànxiàn kǔn qǐlái.

Use a cable tie to bundle these wires.

Tips

usage

The zā reading is the 'bundle / bind / wrap' cluster - etymologically a separate character 紮 (silk-radical) that was merged into 扎 in the 1956 simplification. Core list: 包扎 (bandage a wound, wrap up), 结扎 (medical ligation, e.g. tubal ligation), 扎带 (cable tie / zip tie). Also serves as a classifier - 一扎花 (a bunch of flowers), 一扎钱 (a bundle of cash).

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (radical form of 手)

Left-side hand radical, the side form of 手. Anchors 扎 in the manual-action family - pricking, tying, struggling are all things hands do. Same radical drives 打 (hit), 拉 (pull), 扔 (throw). Provides essentially all the meaning while the right side just suggests sound and shape.

phonetic

乚 yǐ

hidden; second (variant of 乙)

Right side is a single hooked stroke - a variant of 乙. The phonetic role is rough (yǐ → zhā, the readings drifted heavily) so today 乚 functions more as a graphic anchor than a real sound clue. Same shape ends 礼, 札, 乳.