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失效 (shī xiào) — to lose effectiveness; to become invalid (of documents, medicine, contracts, etc.)

Definition

Means something (a contract, card, drug, policy) has stopped working or counting as valid. Contrast with 生效 ('to take effect'), its opposite, and 无效 ('invalid' as a status, not the process of ceasing).

verb
to lose effectivenessto become invalid (of documents, medicine, contracts, etc.)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 失效。
    Zhè zhāng yín háng kǎ yǐ jīng shī xiào le.
    This bank card is already invalid.
  • 失效。
    Zhè zhǒng yào zài yáng guāng xià róng yì shī xiào.
    This medicine easily loses effectiveness in sunlight.
  • 失效。
    Hé tong shī xiào hòu xū yào chóng xīn qiān dìng.
    After the contract becomes invalid, it needs to be re-signed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

失shīlose
效xiàoeffect

失 (lose) with 效 (effect) describes losing validity or effectiveness.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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
攵Written in full as攴pūto strike; action
Sound part声符shēngfú
交
交jiāo效xiào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

效 pairs 攵 (written in full as 攴), meaning “to strike; action,” with 交, which gives the sound.

Open 效 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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