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应付 (yìng fu) — to cope with, to deal with, to handle

Definition

应付 stresses getting by or muddling through a task or situation, often with effort or difficulty. 应对 is more neutral and competent ('to respond to / handle'); 对付 leans negative and informal, often for troublesome people or problems.

verb
to cope withto deal withto handle
Easily confused

Examples

  • 应付。
    Tā néng yìng fu gè zhǒng fù zá qíng kuàng.
    He can handle all kinds of complex situations.
  • 应付。
    Gōng sī de xīn zhèng cè hěn nán yìng fu.
    The company's new policy is hard to cope with.
  • 应付？
    Nǐ dǎ suàn zěn me yìng fu zhè ge rèn wu?
    How do you plan to deal with this task?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

应yìngrespond
付fùhandle

应 means respond and 付 means handle, giving the sense of coping or dealing with something.

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 應; 应 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
䧹
䧹䧹應yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 應 pairs 心 (heart) with 䧹 as a sound part; the simplified 应 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the original components.

Open 应 →

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

付 pairs 亻 (person) with 又 (hand), showing a person handing something to someone.

Open 付 →
Appears in
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