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包涵 (bāo hán) — to excuse, to forgive (polite formula used when asking for leniency); to contain, to include (formal/literary)

Definition

包涵 (bāohán) is a polite formula meaning 'please excuse / forgive' — used to ask for leniency after a mistake or shortcoming. The ‘contain’ sense is rare and formal; the everyday meaning is the apology phrase.

verb
to excuseto forgive (polite formula used when asking for leniency)to containto include (formal/literary)

Examples

  • ，包涵。
    Zhāo dài bù zhōu, qǐng nín duō duō bāo hán.
    The hospitality was lacking; please be generous in forgiving me.
  • 包涵。
    Zhè piān jiǎng huà bāo hán le fēng fù de zhé lǐ.
    This speech contains rich philosophy.
  • ，，包涵。
    Chū lái zhà dào, yǒu shén me zuò dé bù hǎo de dì fāng, hái wàng nín bāo hán.
    I'm new here; wherever I fall short, I hope you'll be forgiving.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

包bāocontain
涵háncontain

包 and 涵 both mean to hold or include, giving the sense of holding someone's fault.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
函
函hán涵hán
Same sound today

涵 is built from 氵, the water radical, plus 函, which gives the sound.

Open 涵 →
Appears in
Greetings & Politeness

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