左

zuǒ

HSK 2

左 — zuǒ

1. left (direction); on the left

   请向左拐。 qǐng xiàng zuǒ guǎi — Please turn left.

2. the Left (political grouping)

   他支持左派的政策。 tā zhīchí zuǒpài de zhèngcè — He supports Left-wing policies.

3. east (old/rare usage)

   古人以左为东，故称山东为山左。 gǔrén yǐ zuǒ wèi dōng gù chēng shāndōng wèi shān zuǒ — The ancients treated 'left' as 'east', so Shandong was called Shanzuo. (archaic)

4. unorthodox; queer; wrong; differing; opposite; variant of 佐

   这主意有点左，不太可行。 zhè zhǔyì yǒudiǎn zuǒ bù tài kěxíng — This idea is a bit off/left and not very feasible.

5. surname Zuo

   左先生是我的老师。 zuǒ xiānshēng shì wǒ de lǎoshī — Mr. Zuo is my teacher.