载 (zài): to carry; to convey

Meanings

1 to carry; to convey
2 to load; to hold
3 (literary) and; as well as; simultaneously

Characters

载

zài

to carry; to convey

Examples

这辆卡车能载十吨货物。

Zhè liàng kǎchē néng zài shí dūn huòwù.

This truck can carry ten tons of cargo.

人们载歌载舞，庆祝丰收。

Rénmen zàigēzàiwǔ, qìngzhù fēngshōu.

Singing and dancing, the crowd celebrated the harvest.

船超载了，不能出航。

Chuán chāozài le, bùnéng chūháng.

The ship was overloaded and could not sail.

Tips

usage

Use zài for physical loading and carrying: 装载 (to load), 载客 (to carry passengers), 载重 (load capacity), 超载 (overload), 车载 (vehicle-mounted), 搭载 (to carry / be equipped with). For written records and the literary 'year' sense, switch to zǎi.

memory

Both readings hang on the cart radical 车. Picture a single cart with two jobs: physically hauling cargo (zài) versus carrying the inscribed history of a journey (zǎi). When the cart literally bears weight, say zài; when it bears a written record, say zǎi.

Components

radical

车 chē

vehicle; cart

Inner cart radical (Kangxi #159, simplified from 車). Anchors the meaning: the zài reading is to load onto or carry by vehicle (装载 to load, 载客 to carry passengers); the zǎi reading extended from carting goods to entering an event into the records. Same radical groups 辆, 转, 轮.

phonetic

哉 zāi

(literary exclamation; phonetic frame)

Outer wrapping 哉 in a contracted 6-stroke form — the standalone 哉 has 9 strokes (with an extra 口 mouth in the lower-left), but in 载 the 口 is dropped and the halberd-like frame embraces 车 directly. Provides the sound zāi/zǎi/zài. Same phonetic family as 栽 (to plant) and 裁 (to cut, to decide).