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告诫 (gào jiè) — to warn, to admonish

Definition

告诫 (gào jiè) means to admonish — a serious, earnest warning, often from a senior to a junior. It is more solemn and lecturing than 提醒 ('remind') and less official than 警告.

verb
to warnto admonish

Examples

  • 告诫。
    Lǎo shī gào jiè xué shēng yào zūn shǒu jì lǜ.
    The teacher warned the students to follow the rules.
  • 告诫。
    Fù qīn gào jiè ér zi bú yào làng fèi shí jiān.
    The father admonished his son not to waste time.
  • 告诫。
    Jǐng chá gào jiè sī jī zhù yì ān quán.
    The police warned the driver to pay attention to safety.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

告gàotell
诫jièwarn

告 and 诫 both mean to tell or warn, giving a sense of admonition.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 誡; 诫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 誡 pairs 言, speech, with 戒, read jiè and meaning guard against; the simplified 诫 is a later shorthand.

Open 诫 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Communication & Speech

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