Kilo Lingo

(zǔ) - group, team; set (measure word); to form into a group in Mandarin

Traditional: 組

#2179 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

group, team; set (measure word); to form into a group

Word origin

A phono-semantic character: the silk radical 纟gives the meaning and 且 (qiě) supplies the sound; it first meant a woven silk band, later a set or group.

Origin
phonetic
Root
纟(silk) + 且 (qiě, phonetic)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 组

Examples

We split into four groups.

He is the leader of group three.

There are five people in each group.

This set of numbers is very odd.

She bought a new set of cups.

组 (zǔ) is a group in the organised sense: a working group, a class split into teams, a study group. It is smaller and more task-shaped than 团队 (tuán duì), which is a team as an ongoing unit, and it is the word teachers use when they divide a class.

It doubles as a measure word for things that come as a set, so 一组数字 is a set of figures and 一组照片 is a series of photographs. This is the sense you meet most often in reading, and it does not need a separate word in Mandarin the way English needs "set of".

As a verb it means to form or assemble, but almost always inside a compound rather than alone: 组成 (to make up), 组织 (to organise), 组合 (to combine). Leading roles get 组长, the group leader. Note the third tone, zǔ, which is easy to flatten next to a following fourth tone in 组织.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

组: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "组" (group, team; set (measure word); to form into a group): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 44.