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归结 (guī jié) — to sum up; to boil down (to); to conclude (often in 归结为 or 归结于)

Definition

归结 means to boil something down to a cause or essence, often in 归结为/于. Unlike 总结 (general summary) or 归纳 (inductive reasoning), it points to a single underlying cause.

verb
to sum upto boil down (to)to conclude (often in 归结为 or 归结于)

Examples

  • 归结。
    Yuán yīn kě yǐ guī jié wéi liǎng gè zhǔ yào yīn sù.
    The reasons can be boiled down to two main factors.
  • 归结：“”。
    Tā de huà guī jié qǐ lái jiù shì yí jù huà: "jiān chí dào dǐ".
    What he said boils down to one sentence: 'Persevere to the end.'
  • 归结。
    Zhè ge wèn tí de gēn yuán guī jié yú gōu tōng bù zú.
    The root cause of this problem boils down to insufficient communication.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

归guīgather
结jiéconclude

“归” (gather) and “结” (conclude) together mean to sum up or conclude.

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 歸; 归 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤ancient form of {{zh-l|*師|troops}}
  • 帚帚zhǒubroom; sweep

The traditional form 歸 combines 𠂤 (troops) and 帚 (broom; sweep) to show sweeping away an enemy and returning; the simplified 归 is a later abbreviation.

Open 归 →

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 結; 结 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
吉
吉jí結jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 結 pairs 糸 with 吉; 吉 gives the sound, and 糸 relates to the meaning. The simplified 结 is a later shorthand.

Open 结 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & SpeechThinking & Cognition

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