判断 (pàn duàn) — to judge; to determine | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

判断 is the general 'to judge / to determine' — figure out or decide something by reasoning. Lighter than 判决 (a formal court sentence) and 断定 (a firm conclusion from evidence).

verb

to judgeto determine

Examples

判断？
Nǐ néng pàn duàn chū nǎ ge dá àn shì duì de ma?
Can you judge which answer is correct?
，判断。
Gēn jù zhè xiē xìn xī, wǒ men hěn nán pàn duàn shì qing de jié guǒ.
Based on this information, it's hard for us to determine the outcome of the matter.
判断。
Lǎo shī ràng wǒ men pàn duàn yí xià zhè liǎng zhǒng fāng fǎ nǎ ge gèng hǎo.
The teacher asked us to judge which of these two methods is better.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

判 “judge” and 断 “decide” combine to mean forming a determination.

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

刀刀dāoknife

Sound part声符shēngfú

半

半bàn判pàn

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

判 combines 刀, a knife, with 半, which provides the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 斷; 断 is its simplified writing.

𢇍𢇍𢇍to cut
斤斤jīnaxe

The traditional form 斷 uses 𢇍 (to cut) and 斤 (axe) together.

Appears in

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