劝架 (quàn jià) — to mediate a quarrel, to try to stop a fight (between two people)

Definition

劝架 (quàn jià) means stepping in to calm two people who are fighting or arguing and persuade them to stop. Unlike simple 劝 (advise), 劝架 always targets an ongoing dispute between others.

verb
to mediate a quarrelto try to stop a fight (between two people)

Examples

  • ，劝架。
    Tā men chǎo dé hěn lì hài, méi rén gǎn qù quàn jià.
    They were arguing fiercely, and no one dared to mediate.
  • ，。
    Wǒ quàn le bàn tiān jià, tā men cái tíng xià lái.
    I spent ages mediating before they finally stopped.
  • ，劝架。
    Tā pí qi hǎo, jīng cháng bāng péng you quàn jià.
    He has a good temper and often helps friends mediate quarrels.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

劝quànpersuade
架jiàfight

“劝” means to persuade and “架” means a fight, so the word means to persuade a fight, i.e. mediate.

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 勸; 劝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn勸quàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勸 pairs 力 (strength) with 雚 as a sound part; the simplified 劝 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 劝 →

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
木木mùtree, wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
加
加jiā架jià
Same sound today

架 shows 木, meaning wood, with 加 giving the sound; it refers to a wooden prop.

Open 架 →

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