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奖状 (jiǎng zhuàng) — certificate of merit, award certificate

Definition

noun
certificate of meritaward certificate
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 奖状。
    Tā yīn wèi chéng jì yōu xiù huò dé le yì zhāng jiǎng zhuàng.
    He received a certificate of merit for his excellent grades.
  • 奖状。
    Xué xiào zài bì yè diǎn lǐ shàng bān fā le jiǎng zhuàng.
    The school awarded certificates of merit at the graduation ceremony.
  • 奖状。
    Tā bǎ jiǎng zhuàng guà zài kè tīng de qiáng shàng.
    She hung the certificate of merit on the living room wall.

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.

奖jiǎngaward
状zhuàngcertificate

奖 refers to an award, and 状 is a certificate or document, together meaning award certificate.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獎; 奖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
將
將jiāng獎jiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 獎 pairs 將 as a sound part with 犬, a dog; the simplified 奖 is a later shorthand. The evidence says the dog part's meaning is unclear, perhaps referring to guiding a dog by voice.

Open 奖 →

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 狀; 状 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán狀zhuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 狀 pairs 犬 (dog) with 爿 as a sound component; the simplified 状 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 状 →
Appears in
Success & Failure

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