志愿者 (zhì yuàn zhě) — volunteer | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

志愿者 is the person who volunteers — the agent noun, used for people helping at events or in communities. Compare with 义工 (more common in Hong Kong/Mainland community service) and 自愿 (the verb/adjective for doing something willingly).

noun

volunteer

Measure word · 位

Examples

志愿者，。
Tā shì yí wèi lǎo zhì yuàn zhě, jīng cháng bāng zhù lǎo rén.
He is a veteran volunteer who often helps elderly people.
志愿者。
Zhè cì huó dòng xū yào èr shí míng zhì yuàn zhě.
This event needs twenty volunteers.
志愿者，。
Wǒ zài xué xiào zuò guò zhì yuàn zhě, jiào xiǎo péng yǒu huà huà.
I volunteered at school, teaching kids to draw.

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

志愿volunteer

志zhì愿yuàn

联绵Bound pair

志愿者 is a person (者) doing volunteer work (志愿).

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

之

之zhī志zhì

Same sound today

志 has 心, the heart, below and a simplified top from 之 for sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

原心愿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

原

原yuán愿yuàn

Same sound today

愿 places 心 (heart) below 原, which supplies the sound yuán; the 心 part marks the sense of heart or feeling.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Social Roles & Status

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