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开拓者 (kāi tuò zhě) — pioneer

Definition

A 'pioneer' who blazes a new trail in an unexplored field. Unlike 先驱 (often the first advocate of an idea), 开拓者 emphasizes actively breaking new ground through action.

noun
pioneer
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 开拓者，。
    Zhè wèi kāi tuò zhě fēi cháng yǒng gǎn, dú zì shēn rù le yuán shǐ sēn lín.
    This pioneer was very brave, venturing alone into the primeval forest.
  • 开拓者。
    kāi tuò zhě Men zài huāng yě zhōng kāi pì le xīn de dào lù.
    The pioneers opened a new path through the wilderness.
  • 开拓者。
    Kē jì lǐng yù de kāi tuò zhě gǎi biàn le wǒ men de shēng huó fāng shì.
    The pioneers in the field of technology changed our way of life.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

开拓pioneer/develop
开kāiopen拓tuòexpand
联合Coordinate
者zhěone who

开拓 (pioneer/develop) plus 者 (one who) names a pioneer.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí拓tuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拓 uses 扌, the hand radical, on the left, and 石 on the right as a sound part.

Open 拓 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →
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