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zāo

bad; in a mess

Usage note

表示事情不好或东西乱了。

Zāo biǎoshì shìqing bù hǎo huò dōngxi luàn le.

Bad means something is not good or things are in a mess.

Context note

如果东西掉在地上弄脏了,我们可以说了。

Rúguǒ dōngxi diào zài dìshàng nòng zāng le, wǒmen kěyǐ shuō zāo le.

If something falls on the ground and gets dirty, we can say oh no.

5 examples

了,我忘记带铅笔了。
zāo le, wǒ wàng jì dài qiān bǐ le。
Oh no, I forgot to bring my pencil.
今天天气真,下雨了。
jīn tiān tiān qì zhēn zāo, xià yǔ le。
The weather today is really bad, it's raining.
房间太了,需要整理。
fáng jiān tài zāo le, xū yào zhěng lǐ。
The room is too messy, it needs tidying up.
了,我把牛奶洒了。
zāo le, wǒ bǎ niú nǎi sǎ le。
Oh no, I spilled the milk.
这个苹果了,不能吃了。
zhè ge píng guǒ zāo le, bù néng chī le。
This apple is bad, it can't be eaten.

5 mini stories

小明的作业本掉水里了。他说了,字都花了。
xiǎo míng de zuò yè běn diào shuǐ lǐ le。 tā shuō zāo le, zì dōu huā le。
Xiao Ming's homework book fell into water. He said oh no, the words are all smudged.
小红不小心打破了杯子。她觉得很
xiǎo hóng bù xiǎo xīn dǎ pò le bēi zi。 tā jué de hěn zāo。
Xiao Hong accidentally broke a cup. She felt very bad.
小华发现玩具坏了。他说了,不能玩了。
xiǎo huá fà xiàn wán jù huài le。 tā shuō zāo le, bù néng wán le。
Xiao Hua found the toy was broken. He said oh no, can't play with it.
小丽把颜料弄到衣服上了。妈妈觉得了。
xiǎo lì bǎ yán liào nòng dào yī fu shàng le。 mā ma jué de zāo le。
Xiao Li got paint on her clothes. Mom thought it was bad.
小刚的蛋糕烤焦了。他说了,不能吃了。
xiǎo gāng de dàn gāo kǎo jiāo le。 tā shuō zāo le, bù néng chī le。
Xiao Gang's cake got burnt. He said oh no, can't eat it.

Related words and contrasts

similar
糟糕
zāo gāo
terrible; too bad

common expression for something bad

similar
huài
bad

simple word for bad

related
luàn
messy

describes disorder or mess

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