(zhù míng) - famous, well-known, renowned in Mandarin
zhùmíngTraditional: 著名
Translation
famous, well-known, renowned
Word origin
A compound of 著 (zhù, marked, evident) and 名 (míng, name), so literally one whose name stands out.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 著 (zhù, evident) + 名 (míng, name)
Stroke order
著
名
Examples
。
He is a famous writer.
。
This city is famous for its food.
。
That is a well-known film.
。
She is very well known at home.
。
This university is highly renowned.
著名 (zhù míng) means famous in the respectable sense: a famous writer, a renowned university, a city known for something worth knowing it for. It belongs to writing and formal speech.
The everyday spoken equivalent is 有名, and the two are not always swappable. 有名 will happily describe a local noodle shop; 著名 sounds like a museum caption. Neither carries any hint of notoriety, so a famous criminal is not 著名 but 有名 or, more bluntly, 出了名.
The pattern to learn is 以 ... 著名, to be famous for something: 这座城市以美食著名. Note also that 著 here is read zhù, not the zháo or zhe you meet in 着 elsewhere.
Where this fits
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueMandarin · Free printables
著名: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "著名" (famous, well-known, renowned): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 46.