中间派 (zhōng jiān pài) — centrist or moderate faction; middle ground in…

Definition

A political term for the centrist or moderate faction — those positioned between left and right, favoring compromise over extremes.

noun

centrist or moderate factionmiddle ground in politics

，中间派。
Zài zhè cì xuǎn jǔ zhōng, zhōng jiān pài huò dé le xǔ duō xuǎn mín de zhī chí.
In this election, the centrist faction gained support from many voters.
中间派，。
Tā shǔ yú zhōng jiān pài, zhǔ zhāng cǎi qǔ wěn jiàn de zhèng cè.
He belongs to the moderate faction and advocates adopting prudent policies.
，中间派。
Dāng qián zhèng zhì jú shì xià, zhōng jiān pài de zuò yòng yuè lái yuè zhòng yào.
Under the current political situation, the role of the middle ground is becoming more important.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

中间middle ground

中zhōngmiddle间jiānspace/interval

偏正Modifier + head

中 gives middle and 间 gives space/interval, forming middle ground; 派 names a faction.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater; river

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠂢

𠂢𠂢派pài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.