仲裁 (zhòng cái) — to arbitrate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

仲裁 (zhòngcái) means 'to arbitrate' — a private, neutral third party resolves a dispute outside court. 裁决 is the formal ruling issued in court or competition, not the process of arbitration itself.

verb

to arbitrate

Examples

仲裁。
Tā men jué dìng zhòng cái zhè ge shāng yè jiū fēn.
They decided to arbitrate this commercial dispute.
仲裁。
Zhè ge àn jiàn jiāng yóu guó jì fǎ tíng zhòng cái.
This case will be arbitrated by an international tribunal.
仲裁。
Shuāng fāng tóng yì zhòng cái tā men de hé tong zhēng yì.
Both parties agreed to arbitrate their contract dispute.

Origin

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.

仲zhòngmiddle

“仲” (middle) and “裁” (judge) combine to mean settling a dispute.

Characters in this word

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

亻中仲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

中

中zhōng仲zhòng

Same sound today

In 仲, the left part is 亻, a person, and the right part is 中, used for its sound.

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

衣𢦏裁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢦏

𢦏𢦏裁cái

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

裁 combines 衣 (clothing) with 𢦏, whose form is tied to a blade and an arrow, to show cutting fabric.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Law & Justice

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