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抗议 (kàng yì) — to protest

Definition

抗议 (kàngyì) is a public, often collective 'to protest' — stronger and more performative than 反对 ('to oppose' in thought or argument). Pairs with 示威/集会 or 提� protests verbally.

verb
to protest

Examples

  • 抗议。
    Gōng rén men zhèng zài jiē tóu kàng yì jiā xīn.
    The workers are protesting on the streets for a pay raise.
  • 抗议。
    Tā kàng yì xué xiào de guī dìng bù gōng píng.
    She protested that the school rules were unfair.
  • 抗议。
    Jū mín duì zào yīn wèn tí tí chū kàng yì.
    The residents raised a protest about the noise problem.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

抗kàngoppose
议yìopinion

To 抗 oppose an 议 opinion or proposal gives the sense of protest.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
亢
亢kàng抗kàng
Same sound today

抗 is made from 扌, a written form of 手 (hand), and 亢, which gives the sound.

Open 抗 →

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 議; 议 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yántalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
義
義yì議⁰yì
Same sound today

The traditional form 議 pairs 言 (talk) with 義 as a sound component; the simplified 议 is a later shorthand.

Open 议 →
Appears in
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