zai3 ding3製訂制订
Jyutpingzai3 ding3
Yalejai ding
Definition
To formulate, draft, or draw up a policy, plan, or rule.
neutralworkcommunication
How it's used
Used primarily in formal, professional, or administrative contexts, such as government policy or corporate strategy. It carries a sense of careful planning and official establishment, making it sound significantly more serious than simply making a plan.
Examples
The company just formulated a new policy.
Have you guys formulated the plan yet?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse it with 制定, which is also used for formulating rules or laws. While they are interchangeable in many contexts, 製訂 emphasizes the process of creating and drafting, whereas 制定 focuses more on the final act of establishing or enacting the rule.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
