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学生会 (xué sheng huì) — student union; student association

Definition

noun
student unionstudent association
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 学生会。
    Tā cān jiā le xué sheng huì.
    He joined the student union.
  • 学生会。
    xué sheng huì Zhèng zài zǔ zhī yí gè huó dòng.
    The student union is organizing an event.
  • 学生会。
    xué sheng huì De bàn gōng shì zài jiào xué lóu sān lóu.
    The student union office is on the third floor of the teaching building.

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.

学生student
学xuélearn生shēngperson
偏正Modifier + head
会huìassociation

“学生” learner and “会” association, together a student union.

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →
Appears in
Groups & OrganizationsSchool & Education

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