Chinese symbol for “ponder”
琢磨
zuó mo
to ponder; to mull over; to think through; Taiwan pr. [zhuo2 mo2]
The closest CC-CEDICT match for ponder is 琢磨 (zuó mo), defined as: to ponder; to mull over; to think through; Taiwan pr. [zhuo2 mo2].
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “ponder”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 深思 | shēn sī | to ponder; to consider |
| 思忖 | sī cǔn | to ponder; to reckon |
| 思索 | sī suǒ | to think deeply; to ponder |
| 忖 | cǔn | to ponder; to speculate |
| 沉思 | chén sī | to contemplate; to ponder |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 琢磨.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 雕琢 | diāo zhuó | to sculpt; to carve (jade) |
| 精雕细琢 (精雕細琢) | jīng diāo xì zhuó | see 精雕细刻 (jīng diāo xì kè) |
| 切磋琢磨 | qiē cuō zhuó mó | lit. cutting and polishing (idiom); fig. to learn by exchanging ideas or experiences |
| 折磨 | zhé mó | to torment; to torture |
| 磨损 (磨損) | mó sǔn | to suffer wear and tear; to deteriorate through use; to wear out |
| 磨难 (磨難) | mó nàn | a torment; a trial |
| 消磨 | xiāo mó | to wear down; to sap |
See also: Japanese symbol for “ponder”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.