左
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left; the Left (politics); east; unorthodox; queer; wrong; differing; opposite; variant of 佐[zuo3]
5 strokes
Dict coverage rank #916 U+5DE6
How 左 is formed
Pictograph (象形字)
A left hand; compare 又
How to remember it
left · Heisig RSH #77
by one’s side + 工 work
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 左 as their sound component
These characters all use 左 (zuǒ) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 左 sound component | zuǒ | left; unorthodox, improper |
| 佐 | zuǒ | to assist, to aid; subordinate, second |
| 惰 | duò | lazy, idle, indolent; careless |
Words containing 左
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 左字头 | zuǒ zì tóu | "top of 左 character" component in Chinese characters |
| 左不过 | zuǒ bu guò | anyhow; in any event; just; only |
| 新巴尔虎左旗 | Xīn bā ěr hǔ zuǒ qí | New Barag left banner in Hulunbuir 呼倫貝爾|呼伦贝尔[Hu1 lun2 bei4 er3], Inner Mongolia |
| 左口鱼 | zuǒ kǒu yú | flounder |
| 巴林左 | Bā lín zuǒ | Bairin Left banner of Baarin Züün khoshuu in Chifeng 赤峰[Chi4 feng1], Inner Mongolia |
| 左倾机会主义 | zuǒ qīng jī huì zhǔ yì | (Marxist jargon) left opportunism; ultra-left deviation ignoring objective conditions and … |
| 左权县 | Zuǒ quán Xiàn | Zuoquan, a county in Jinzhong City 晉中市|晋中市[Jin4 zhong1 Shi4], Shanxi |
| 左云县 | Zuǒ yún Xiàn | Zuoyun, a county in Datong City 大同市[Da4 tong2 Shi4], Shanxi |
| 左边儿 | zuǒ bian r | erhua variant of 左邊|左边[zuo3 bian5] |
| 巴林左旗 | Bā lín zuǒ qí | Bairin Left banner of Baarin Züün khoshuu in Chifeng 赤峰[Chi4 feng1], Inner Mongolia |
| 左耳入，右耳出 | zuǒ ěr rù , yòu ěr chū | in one ear and out the other |
| 苏尼特左旗 | Sū ní tè zuǒ qí | Sonid Left banner in Xilingol League 錫林郭勒盟|锡林郭勒盟[Xi1 lin2 guo1 le4 Meng2], Inner Mongolia |
| 阿拉善左旗 | Ā lā shàn Zuǒ qí | Alxa Left Banner, Mongolian Alshaa Züün khoshuu, in Alxa League 阿拉善盟[A1 la1 shan4 Meng2], … |
| 左拉 | Zuǒ lā | Zola (name); Émile Zola (1840-1902), French naturalist novelist |
| 白左 | bái zuǒ | (neologism, attested by 2010) naive, self-righteous Western liberals or progressives |
| 左上 | zuǒ shàng | upper left |
| 左手 | zuǒ shǒu | left hand; left-hand side |
| 中国左翼作家联盟 | Zhōng guó Zuǒ yì Zuò jiā Lián méng | the League of the Left-Wing Writers, an organization of writers formed in China in 1930 |
| 左面 | zuǒ miàn | left side |
| 左下 | zuǒ xià | lower left |