保险单 (bǎo xiǎn dān) — insurance policy

Definition

noun

insurance policy

Measure word · 份

保险单。
Wǒ mǎi le yí fèn bǎo xiǎn dān.
I bought an insurance policy.
保险单。
Zhè zhāng bǎo xiǎn dān de yǒu xiào qī shì yì nián.
The validity period of this insurance policy is one year.
保险单。
Qǐng bǎ bǎo xiǎn dān fàng zài ān quán de dì fāng.
Please put the insurance policy in a safe place.

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.

保险insurance

动宾Verb + object

单dāndocument

保险 comes from 保 protect and 险 risk, and 单 is the document.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 險; 险 is its simplified writing.

阝僉險

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

僉

僉qiān險

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 險 pairs 阝, written in full as 阜, with 僉, which gives the sound; the simplified 险 is a shorthand.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Appears in