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培养 (péi yǎng) — to cultivate, to foster, to nurture (talent, habits, abilities, etc.)

Definition

培养 focuses on gradually developing abilities, habits, or talent over time — broader than 培训 (job/vocational training) and gentler than 教育 (formal teaching). 培育 and 栽培 overlap but lean more toward raising plants or breeding.

verb
to cultivateto fosterto nurture (talent, habits, abilities, etc.)

Examples

  • 培养。
    Gōng sī hěn zhòng shì péi yǎng rén cái.
    The company places great importance on cultivating talent.
  • 培养。
    Cóng xiǎo péi yǎng hǎo de xué xí xí guàn hěn zhòng yào.
    It's important to foster good study habits from a young age.
  • 培养。
    Xué xiào yīng gāi péi yǎng xué shēng de dú lì sī kǎo néng lì.
    Schools should nurture students' independent thinking ability.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

培péitend
养yǎngnourish

培 suggests tending the base of a plant, while 养 means nourishing, giving the sense of fostering growth.

Characters in this word

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu培péi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

培 is made from 土 (earth) and 咅, which gives the sound.

Open 培 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5School & Education

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