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增进 (zēng jìn) — to enhance, to promote

Definition

增进 (zēng jìn) means 'to enhance/promote' something abstract — understanding, cooperation, friendship — by adding to it. Pairs with 促进 (advance a cause) and 加强/增强 (strengthen an existing capacity).

verb
to enhanceto promote

Examples

  • 增进。
    Duō dú shū néng zēng jìn zhī shi.
    Reading more can enhance knowledge.
  • 增进。
    Tā men xiǎng zēng jìn liǎng guó zhī jiān de hé zuò.
    They want to promote cooperation between the two countries.
  • 增进。
    Jīng cháng jiāo liú néng zēng jìn bǐ cǐ de liǎo jiě.
    Frequent communication can enhance mutual understanding.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

增zēngincrease
进jìnadvance

The 增 means increase and 进 means advance, so together they mean promote or enhance.

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
曾
曾céng增zēng
Same sound today

增 uses 土 (earth) to show that things grow in earth or are built from earth, and uses 曾 for the sound. This gives the sense of adding or increasing.

Open 增 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

  • 辵辵chuòwalk
  • 隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Change & Process

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