御 (yù) — (bound form) to resist; to ward off
Definition
御 (yù) is a formal, bound morpheme meaning 'to resist, to ward off' — almost always embedded in words like 抵御 and 防御, not used alone.
bound form
to resistto ward off
Easily confused
- 遇yùsound-alike(bound form) to meet; to encounter
- 欲yùsound-alike(bound form) desire; wish (as in 欲望, 食欲)
- 狱yùsound-alike(bound morpheme) prison, jail
- 浴yùsound-alike(bound morpheme) bath, bathe, wash
- 预yùsound-alike(bound form) in advance, beforehand; pre-
- 玉yùsound-alikejade (a precious stone, often culturally symbolic in Chinese contexts)
Examples
- 。Jiā qiáng fáng yù néng lì shì guó jiā ān quán de zhòng yào bǎo zhàng.Strengthening defense capability is an important guarantee of national security.
- 。Zhè zhǒng cái liào néng yǒu xiào dǐ yù hán lěng tiān qì.This material can effectively resist cold weather.
- 御。Tā men chéng gōng yù dí yú biān jìng zhī wài.They successfully warded off the enemy at the border.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
卩卩jiékneeling person
Sound part声符shēngfú
午
午wǔ御yù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The form combines 午 and 卩, a kneeling person; walking signs add action, and the whole form means govern.
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