关连 (guān lián) — to be connected, to be related (variant form of 关联)

Definition

Formal verb meaning 'to be connected / related'. A less common variant of 关联; 关系 is broader and more colloquial.

verb
to be connectedto be related (variant form of 关联)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 关连。
    Zhè liǎng gè wèn tí mì qiè guān lián.
    These two issues are closely connected.
  • 关连。
    Jīng jì fā zhǎn guān lián dào xǔ duō shè huì yīn sù.
    Economic development is related to many social factors.
  • 关连。
    Zhè jiàn shì bù guān lián nǐ de guò qù.
    This matter is not connected to your past.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

关guānconnect
连liánlink

关 and 连 both express linking, so together they mean to be connected or related.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
門門méndoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢇅
𢇅𢇅關guān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

Open 关 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 連; 连 is its simplified writing.

  • 辶辵chuòto walk
  • 車車jūchariot

The traditional form 連 joins 辶 (walk) and 車 (chariot) to show a man-drawn carriage; this note is about 連, not the simplified 连.

Open 连 →

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