征 (zhēng) — to recruit (personnel); to levy (taxes); to draft (troops)
Definition
征 (zhēng) is the short verb 'to recruit / to levy / to draft' used in formal, official contexts. For 'collect opinions or materials', use the verb-object compound 征集 instead.
verb
to recruit (personnel)to levy (taxes)to draft (troops)
Examples
- 征。Zhè jiā gōng sī měi nián dōu zhēng pìn hěn duō dà xué shēng.This company recruits many college students every year.
- 。Guó jiā zhēng shuì lái jiàn shè xué xiào.The state levies taxes to build schools.
- ，。Zhàn zhēng shí qī, guó jiā huì zhēng bīng.During wartime, the state drafts soldiers.
Origin
Compound ideograph六书liùshū
会意huìyìTwo or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 徵; 征 is its simplified writing.
The simplified 征 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (特征, 象征) it is 徵; in others it is 征.
The story is about the traditional form 徵. It originally meant punishment, from a picture of a knife with tooth-shaped protrusions on its back; later forms kept that sense.
Appears in
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