How to say “left” in Chinese
left
“Left” in Chinese is 左, zuǒ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
左 is read zuǒ. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
At the bottom, 工 “work”.
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 “左”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 左. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 书店在左边shūdiànzàizuǒbianThe bookstore is on the left.
- 到十字路口往左转dàoshízìlùkǒuwǎngzuǒzhuǎnTurn left at the intersection.
- 他三十岁左右tāsānshísuìzuǒyòuHe’s about thirty.
- 请把沙发往左移一点儿qǐngbǎshāfāwǎngzuǒyíyìdiǎnrPlease move the sofa a little to the left.
- 你直走到路口往左转nǐzhízǒu,dàolùkǒuwǎngzuǒzhuǎnGo straight and turn left at the intersection.
- 她左看右看，还是觉得沙发放在窗边最好。tāzuǒkànyòukàn,háishijuédeshāfāfàngzàichuāngbiānzuìhǎoShe looked at it this way and that, and in the end still decided the sofa was best by the window.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Left and right”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “left” in Chinese?
“Left” in Chinese is 左, pinyin zuǒ.
What does 左 mean?
左 (zuǒ) means “left”.
How do you write 左?
左 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 左?
左 is read zuǒ. Tones: zuǒ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“left” in the lesson “Left and right”
This word is from the topic “Around town” of HSK 2. 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.
Start for free