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善举 (shàn jǔ) — philanthropic act; charitable deed; good deed

Definition

善举 is a formal, written-style noun for a 'good deed' or charitable act, stronger and more literary than everyday 好事. It is typically used to praise a specific, often substantial, philanthropic action.

noun
philanthropic actcharitable deedgood deed
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 善举。
    Tā de shàn jǔ bāng zhù le xǔ duō pín kùn xué shēng.
    His philanthropic act helped many impoverished students.
  • 善举。
    Zhè cì juān kuǎn huó dòng shì yí cì zhēn zhèng de shàn jǔ.
    This donation drive was a genuine charitable deed.
  • 善举。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi duō zuò yì xiē shàn jǔ lái huí bào shè huì.
    We should do more good deeds to give back to society.

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.

善shàngood
举jǔdeed

善举 combines 善 (good) and 举 (deed) to mean a good or charitable act.

Characters in this word

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

An earlier form of 善 joined 羊, a sheep linked with goodness or beauty, and 誩, described as a wrangle; the reference says this meaning link is hard to understand.

Open 善 →

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 舉; 举 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
與
與yǔ舉jǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 舉 pairs 與, which gives the sound, with 手, a hand; the simplified 举 is a later shorthand.

Open 举 →
Appears in
Good & BadSociety & Public Life

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