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夹杂 (jiā zá) — to be mixed in with; to be interspersed with (disparate elements); to be entangled or involved with (a person or matter)

Definition

夹杂 (jiāzá) means disparate elements mixed in together, often unwanted or impure (one thing tinged with another). Unlike 混合 (a clean blend of comparable things) or 交织 (a deliberate interweaving), it implies something out of place is mixed in.

verb
to be mixed in withto be interspersed with (disparate elements)to be entangled or involved with (a person or matter)

Examples

  • 夹杂。
    Zhè piàn chá yè jiā zá zhe yì diǎn mò lì huā xiāng.
    This tea leaf is mixed with a hint of jasmine fragrance.
  • 夹杂。
    Tā jiǎng de gù shi lǐ jiā zá le hěn duō kuā zhāng de chéng fèn.
    The story he told was mixed with a lot of exaggeration.
  • 夹杂。
    Tā bú yuàn jiā zá nà chǎng wú wèi de zhēng chǎo dāng zhōng.
    She didn't want to get entangled in that pointless quarrel.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

夹jiáintermix
杂zámixed

夹 and 杂 both describe things being mixed together, so the word means to mingle disparate elements.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夾; 夹 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 夾 draws a person with two people beside or under the arms, giving the idea of holding or sandwiching between sides.

Open 夹 →

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 雜; 杂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
集
集jí雜zá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雜 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 集 as a sound part, originally referring to mixed colours, perhaps in dyed clothes; the simplified 杂 is a later shorthand.

Open 杂 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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