制订 (zhì dìng) — to formulate, to work out (a plan, policy, etc.) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

制订 is 'to formulate / work out' a plan, policy, or rules. It pairs more often with concrete documents (方案, 规则, 制度) than 制定, which leans toward drawing up larger policies.

verb

to formulateto work out (a plan, policy, etc.)

Easily confused

制定zhì dìngsound-aliketo draw up, to formulate (plans, policies, rules, etc.)

Examples

制订。
Wǒ men xū yào zhì dìng yí gè xiáng xì de fāng àn.
We need to formulate a detailed plan.
制订。
Gōng sī zhèng zài zhì dìng xīn de gōng zuò guī zé.
The company is formulating new work rules.
制订。
Tā men huā le sān gè yuè zhì dìng zhè ge xīn zhì dù.
They spent three months formulating this new system.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

制zhìformulate

Both 制 and 订 mean drawing up a plan, so together they emphasize formulating it.

Characters in this word

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

朱朱zhūtree
刀刀dāoknife

The form 制 pairs 朱 (tree) with 刀 (knife), showing the act of cutting a tree.

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 訂; 订 is its simplified writing.

言丁訂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng訂dìng

Same sound today

The traditional form 訂 combines 言, related to speech, with 丁, which gives the sound; the simplified 订 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Management

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