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修建 (xiū jiàn) — to build, to construct

Definition

修建 focuses on building infrastructure like roads, bridges, and buildings through construction work. Compared to 建造 or 建筑, it emphasizes the physical construction process; 建设 is broader, covering institutions and systems.

verb
to buildto construct

Examples

  • 修建。
    Tā men xiū jiàn le yí zuò xīn qiáo.
    They built a new bridge.
  • 修建。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài xiū jiàn yì tiáo gōng lù.
    The government is building a highway.
  • 修建。
    Xué xiào jì huà xiū jiàn yí gè cāo chǎng.
    The school plans to build a playground.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

修xiūbuild
建jiànconstruct

修 and 建 both mean to construct, giving the sense of building or making something.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →

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

  • 廴廴yǐn
  • 聿聿yù

The shape 建 shows 廴 and 聿, but it comes from an older drawing of a hand planting a pole into a base; the lower part of 聿 is not a brush.

Open 建 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 6Buildings & Structures

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