定婚 (dìng hūn) — to be engaged (to be married)

Definition

定婚 (dìng hūn) means 'to get engaged' — an interchangeable variant of 订婚. A near-synonym is 订婚 in HSK 5.

verb
to be engaged (to be married)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 定婚。
    Tā men qù nián dìng hūn le.
    They got engaged last year.
  • 。
    Tā gào sù wǒ tā yǐ jīng dìng le hūn.
    She told me she's already engaged.
  • 定婚？
    Nǐ men shén me shí hou dìng hūn?
    When are you getting engaged?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

定dìngset
婚hūnmarriage

“定” sets or fixes, “婚” refers to marriage, together meaning to confirm a marriage arrangement.

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng定dìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

定 is built from 宀 and 正, with 正 supplying the sound.

Open 定 →

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
昏
昏hūn婚hūn
Same sound today

婚 uses 女 (woman) for the meaning and 昏 for the sound hūn.

Open 婚 →

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