保护人 (bǎo hù rén) — guardian (a person who protects or looks after someone); guarantor (a person who guarantees a loan or obligation)

Definition

保护人 covers two distinct roles: a guardian who looks after a dependent (minors, incapacitated persons) and a guarantor who backs a loan or obligation. In legal/financial contexts (e.g. 贷款, 债务), 担保人 is more standard for the guarantor sense.

noun
guardian (a person who protects or looks after someone)guarantor (a person who guarantees a loan or obligation)

Examples

  • ，保护人。
    Fù mǔ qù shì hòu, shū shu chéng le tā de bǎo hù rén.
    After her parents died, her uncle became her guardian.
  • 保护人。
    Tā xū yào zhǎo yí gè rén zuò tā dài kuǎn de bǎo hù rén.
    He needs to find someone to be his loan guarantor.
  • 保护人。
    Nà wèi fù háo zǒng shì dài zhe jǐ gè bǎo hù rén.
    That wealthy person always brings several protectors.

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.

保护protect
保bǎoprotect护hùprotect
联合Side by side
人rénperson

保护 (protect) and 人 (person) form a person who protects or guarantees.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
户
户hù护hù
Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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