How to say “malfunction” in Chinese
malfunction, breakdown
“Malfunction” in Chinese is 故障, gù zhàng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
故障 is read gù zhàng: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 古 gǔ “ancient” hints at the sound. 故事 is “past affairs”, that is, a “story”.
On the left, 阝 “hill”: a hill blocking the way. On the right, 章 zhāng hints at the reading.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “故障”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 故障. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 电梯又出故障了diàntīyòuchūgùzhàngleThe elevator has broken down again.
- 电脑出故障了diànnǎochūgùzhàngleThe computer has broken down.
- 会不会是设备出了故障？huìbuhuìshìshèbèichūlegùzhàngCould the equipment have broken down?
More words from the lesson “Startup and failure”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “malfunction” in Chinese?
“Malfunction” in Chinese is 故障, pinyin gùzhàng.
What does 故障 mean?
故障 (gùzhàng) means “malfunction, breakdown”.
How do you write 故障?
故障 is 2 characters: 故 (gù) — former; reason; 障 (zhàng) — barrier, obstacle. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 故障?
故障 is read gùzhàng. Tones: gù — fourth tone, zhàng — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“malfunction” in the lesson “Startup and failure”
This word is from the topic “Network and devices” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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