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参议员 (cān yì yuán) — senator

Definition

noun
senator
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 参议员。
    Tā shì yì míng cān yì yuán.
    He is a senator.
  • 参议员。
    cān yì yuán Zài huì yì shàng fā biǎo le yǎn jiǎng.
    The senator gave a speech at the meeting.
  • 参议员。
    Xuǎn mín men tóu piào xuǎn chū le xīn de cān yì yuán.
    The voters elected a new senator.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

参议deliberate
参cānparticipate议yìdiscuss
联合Coordinate
员yuánmember

参议 means to deliberate, and 员 gives the sense of a person who does that.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 參; 参 is its simplified writing.

For simplified 参, the story belongs to traditional 參, which combines 晶 (stars), 光 (light), and 彡 (rays) to show the Three Stars; one reading takes 光 as a kneeling person looking up.

Open 参 →

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 議; 议 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yántalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
義
義yì議⁰yì
Same sound today

The traditional form 議 pairs 言 (talk) with 義 as a sound component; the simplified 议 is a later shorthand.

Open 议 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →
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