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双边 (shuāng biān) — bilateral

Definition

Used in formal/written contexts (treaties, trade, diplomacy) for actions between two countries or parties. Contrast with 单边 (one side only) and 多边 (many sides); 双方 is a noun naming the two parties themselves.

adjective
bilateral

Examples

  • 双边。
    Liǎng guó qiān shǔ le shuāng biān mào yì xié dìng.
    The two countries signed a bilateral trade agreement.
  • 双边。
    Zhè cì shuāng biān huì tán qǔ dé le zhòng yào chéng guǒ.
    This bilateral meeting achieved important results.
  • 双边。
    Tā men gǔ lì shuāng biān tóu zī hé zuò.
    They encourage bilateral investment cooperation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

双shuāngtwo
边biānside

The parts 双 meaning two and 边 meaning side combine to mean bilateral.

Characters in this word

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

双 is made of two 又 parts side by side. Repeating 又 gives the sense of a pair.

Open 双 →

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 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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