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强权 (qiáng quán) — power (especially political power used oppressively); might

Definition

强权 (qiángquán) means power wielded by force to dominate or interfere — almost always negative in tone, unlike neutral 权力 ('power/authority'). Often paired with 政治 or 干涉.

noun
power (especially political power used oppressively)might

Examples

  • ，强权。
    Zài guó jì guān xì zhōng, qiáng quán bù néng dài tì gōng lǐ.
    In international relations, might cannot replace justice.
  • 强权。
    Zhè ge guó jiā guò qù shēn shòu qiáng quán zhèng zhì de yā pò.
    This country suffered deeply from power politics in the past.
  • 强权。
    Tā men fǎn duì yǐ qiáng quán gān shè bié guó nèi zhèng.
    They oppose using power to interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

强qiángstrong
权quánpower

强权 is 强 power 权, strong power used to dominate.

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 強; 强 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 強 pairs an insect component with a sound component; this explains 強, not the simplified 强.

Open 强 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

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