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平安 (píng ān) — safe; safe and sound; peaceful; at peace

Definition

平安 means 'safe and sound' — emphasizing a person arriving or getting through without harm, or a life free from trouble. 安全 is more common for general 'safe/safe'; 平安 often appears in blessings (一路平安) and in 平安到达.

adjective
safesafe and soundpeacefulat peace

Examples

  • 平安。
    Tā zuò fēi jī píng ān dào dá le.
    He arrived safely by plane.
  • 平安。
    Zhù nǐ yì shēng píng ān.
    Wishing you peace all your whole life peace.
  • 平安。
    Wǒ men xī wàng shì jiè yǒng yuǎn píng ān.
    We hope the world will always be at peace.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

平píngpeaceful
安ānsafe

平安 joins 平 and 安, both evoking calm and safety, to mean safe and sound.

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Safety & Danger5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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