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办事 (bàn shì) — to handle affairs; to take care of business; to get things done

Definition

办事 (bàn shì) means 'to handle matters / get things done' — a verb-object phrase where 事 is the object, so it can take a measure word (办一件事). Contrast with 办公, which is specifically office work.

verb
to handle affairsto take care of businessto get things done

Examples

  • 办事。
    Tā bàn shì hěn rèn zhēn.
    He handles affairs very seriously.
  • 。
    Wǒ zuó tiān bàn le yí jiàn shì.
    I handled a matter yesterday.
  • 办事。
    Zhè jiàn shì nǐ qù bàn shì ba.
    You go handle this matter.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

办bànhandle
事shìaffair

The first part means handle, and the second means affair; together they describe getting things done.

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 辦; 办 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
辡
辡biàn辦bàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 辦 combines 力 (strength) with 辡, which gives the sound; the simplified 办 is a later shorthand.

Open 办 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Workplace & Office

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