平叛 (píng pàn) — to suppress a rebellion

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to suppress a rebellion' — always used in historical or political writing, not everyday speech.

verb
to suppress a rebellion
Easily confused

Examples

  • 平叛。
    Zhèng fǔ pài jūn duì qù píng pàn.
    The government sent troops to suppress the rebellion.
  • 。
    Lì shǐ shàng zhè ge dì qū céng píng guò liǎng cì pàn.
    Historically, this region had suppressed rebellions twice.
  • 平叛，。
    píng pàn Zhī hòu, shè huì huī fù le wěn dìng.
    After the rebellion was suppressed, society returned to stability.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

平píngsuppress
叛pànrebellion

平 means suppress and 叛 means rebellion, describing the putting down of an uprising.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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
反反fǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn叛pàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叛 pairs 反 as its meaning part with 半 as its sound part.

Open 叛 →

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