凿

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(bound form) chisel; to bore a hole; to chisel; to dig; (literary) certain; authentic; irrefutable; also pr. [zuo4]

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Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A drill 丵 making a hole 凵

Components 凵丵

bore a hole · Heisig RSH #2758

业 profession + pit + animal horns + clothesline

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
凿石场	záo shí chǎng	rock quarry
凿岩机	záo yán jī	rock drill
穿凿附会	chuān záo fù huì	(idiom) to make far-fetched claims; to offer outlandish explanations
凿壁偷光	záo bì tōu guāng	lit. to pierce the wall to steal a light (idiom); fig. to study diligently in the face of …
凿子	záo zi	chisel
开凿	kāi záo	to cut (a canal, tunnel, well etc)
凿死卯子	záo sǐ mǎo zi	variant of 鑿死鉚子\|凿死铆子[zao2 si3 mao3 zi5]
凿空	záo kōng	to open an aperture; (extended meaning) to cut a way through; to open up a road
言之凿凿	yán zhī záo záo	(idiom) to speak with conviction
确凿不移	què záo bù yí	established and irrefutable (idiom)
妄生穿凿	wàng shēng chuān záo	a forced analogy (idiom); to jump to an unwarranted conclusion
凿死铆子	záo sǐ mǎo zi	(dialect) stubborn; obstinate; inflexible
凿岩	záo yán	(rock) drilling
凿井	záo jǐng	to dig a well
凿沉	záo chén	to scuttle (a ship)
穿凿	chuān záo	to bore a hole; to give a forced interpretation
圆凿方枘	yuán záo fāng ruì	see 方枘圓鑿\|方枘圆凿[fang1 rui4 yuan2 zao2]
方枘圆凿	fāng ruì yuán záo	(lit.) like a square peg in a round hole (idiom); (fig.) incompatible
确凿	què záo	definite; conclusive; undeniable; authentic; also pr. [que4 zuo4]
榫凿	sǔn záo	mortise chisel