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公民权 (gōng mín quán) — civil rights; citizenship rights

Definition

noun
civil rightscitizenship rights
Measure word · 项

Examples

  • 公民权。
    Měi gè guó jiā dōu yīng gāi bǎo zhàng gōng mín de gōng mín quán.
    Every country should protect its citizens' civil rights.
  • 公民权。
    gōng mín quán Shì xiàn dài shè huì fǎ zhì de jī chǔ.
    Civil rights are the foundation of the rule of law in modern society.
  • 公民权。
    Xiàn fǎ míng què guī dìng le gōng mín de gōng mín quán.
    The constitution clearly stipulates citizens' rights.

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.

公民citizen
公gōngpublic民mínpeople
偏正Modifier + head
权quánright

The 权 right of a 公民 public person, meaning citizenship.

Characters in this word

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

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Open 公 →

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →
Appears in
Rights & Citizenship

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