照相 zhàoxiàng to take a photograph
How to remember 照相: 照 shine + 相 mutual = to take a photograph.
Characters
How it is used
- To take a photo - verb-object, so it splits: 照张相 (zhào zhāng xiàng) take a photo, 照了很多相 (zhào le hěn duō xiàng) took lots of photos.
- Near-synonym 拍照 (pāizhào) is more common in modern spoken use; 照相 feels slightly older but is standard. You cannot say 照相一张照片 - the 相 already is the photo.
- 相 is read xiàng here (image), not xiāng (mutual).
Example sentences
- 你有照相机吗？ Nǐ yǒu zhàoxiàngjī ma?Do you have a camera?
- 那天我丢了我的照相机。 Nàtiān wǒ diū le wǒ de zhàoxiàngjī.I lost my camera the other day.
- 我有一台数码照相机。 Wǒ yǒu yì tái shùmǎ zhàoxiàngjī.I have a digital camera.