当政 (dāng zhèng) — to be in power, to hold office | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

当政 (dāngzhèng) means to be in power, typically a political party or leader. Used for formal or historical contexts rather than casual talk.

verb

to be in powerto hold office

Examples

，。
Tā dāng le sān nián zhèng, zuò le hěn duō gǎi gé.
He held power for three years and made many reforms.
当政。
Zhè ge zhèng dǎng yǐ jīng dāng zhèng èr shí nián le.
This political party has been in power for twenty years.
当政，。
Tā dāng zhèng qī jiān, jīng jì kuài sù zēng zhǎng.
During his tenure in power, the economy grew rapidly.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

政zhènggovernment

当 means to hold and 政 means government, so the word means to be in power.

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

田田tiánfield

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng當dāng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

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

攴攴pūaction

Sound part声符shēngfú

正

正zhèng政zhèng

Same sound today

政 combines 正, which gives the sound, with 攴, an action-related part.

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