约

yuē

HSK 4

约 — yuē

1. to make an appointment; to arrange to meet; to invite

   我们约在明天下午三点见面。 wǒmen yuē zài míngtiān xiàwǔ sāndiǎn jiànmiàn — We arranged to meet tomorrow at 3pm.

2. approximately; about

   这里大约有五百人参加。 zhèlǐ dàyuē yǒu wǔbǎi rén shēnjiā — About five hundred people attended here.

3. pact; agreement; treaty

   双方立约不再发生争端。 shuāngfāng lìyuē bùzài fāshēng zhēngduān — The two sides made a pact not to have further disputes.

4. to economize; to save; to restrict; to curtail

   勤俭节约是中华民族的传统美德。 qínjiǎnjiéyuē shì zhōnghuámínzú de chuántǒngměidé — Diligence and economy are traditional virtues of the Chinese people.

5. to reduce (a fraction)

   把这个分数约成最简形式。 bǎ zhège fēnshù yuē chéng zuì jiǎn xíngshì — Reduce this fraction to its simplest form.

6. concise; succinct

   他的文章简约有力，引人入胜。 tā de wénzhāng jiǎnyuē yǒulì yǐnrénrùshèng — His articles are concise and forceful, drawing the reader in.

约 — yāo

1. to weigh on a scale

   把这袋米约一下，看看多少斤。 bǎ zhè dài mǐ yuē yīxià kànkàn duōshǎo jīn — Weigh this bag of rice to see how many jin it is.