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发迹 (fā jì) — to gain fame and fortune; to rise to power and position

Definition

发迹 (fā jì) means to rise from obscurity to wealth and influence — a more literary, narrative word than common verbs for 'succeed' like 成功. Often carries a sense of sudden rise or upstart fortune.

verb
to gain fame and fortuneto rise to power and position

Examples

  • 发迹。
    Tā sān shí suì yǐ hòu jiù fā jì le.
    He rose to fame and fortune after the age of thirty.
  • 发迹，。
    Hěn duō rén dōu xiǎng fā jì, dàn zhēn zhèng chéng gōng de hěn shǎo.
    Many people want to gain fame and fortune, but very few truly succeed.
  • ，。
    Tā fā le jǐ cì jì, dàn dōu méi néng bǎo chí zhù.
    He rose to power several times, but couldn't maintain it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

发fārise
迹jìtrace

'发' means to rise or develop and '迹' means traces, so the image is rising in the world.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmove
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì迹jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迹 pairs 辶, a movement part, with 亦, a sound part; an older form used 朿.

Open 迹 →
Appears in
Success & Failure

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