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封顶 (fēng dǐng) — to put a roof on; to top off (a building); to cap; to set a ceiling on (spending, prizes, etc.); to peak; to reach the highest point (growth, profit, etc.)

Definition

Literally 'seal the top': to cap a building, or figuratively to set an upper limit (on bonuses, prices, growth) — the verb form of the 'ceiling' concept that 上限 / 天花板 name as nouns.

verb
to put a roof onto top off (a building)to capto set a ceiling on (spending, prizes, etc.)to peakto reach the highest point (growth, profit, etc.)

Examples

  • 封顶。
    Zhè dòng dà lóu xià ge yuè jiù yào fēng dǐng le.
    This building will be topped off next month.
  • 封顶，。
    Gōng sī jué dìng gěi jiǎng jīn fēng dǐng, měi rén zuì duō wǔ wàn.
    The company decided to cap the bonus, at most 50,000 per person.
  • 封顶，。
    Zhè ge háng yè de lì rùn yǐ jīng fēng dǐng, bú huì zài zēng zhǎng le.
    The profits in this industry have peaked and won't grow anymore.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

封fēngto seal
顶dǐngtop

“封” (to seal) and “顶” (top) combine to mean sealing the top, as in roofing a building.

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
土土tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

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 頂; 顶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng頂dǐng
Same sound today

The traditional form 頂 pairs 頁, meaning head, with 丁, which supplies the sound; the simplified 顶 is a later abbreviation.

Open 顶 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Buildings & Structures

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