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拆迁 (chāi qiān) — to demolish (buildings) and relocate (residents), as part of urban renewal or development

Definition

拆迁 (chāiqiān) is specifically the demolition-plus-relocation of residents in urban redevelopment — narrower than 拆除 (just tearing down). Pairs with 搬迁 when emphasizing the moving of households.

verb
to demolish (buildings) and relocate (residents), as part of urban renewal or development

Examples

  • 拆迁。
    Zhè ge lǎo xiǎo qū zhōng yú yào chāi qiān le.
    This old residential area is finally going to be demolished and relocated.
  • 拆迁。
    Zhèng fǔ gěi chāi qiān jū mín tí gōng le xīn de zhù fáng.
    The government provided new housing for the residents affected by demolition and relocation.
  • 拆迁。
    chāi qiān Jì huà yǐn qǐ le jū mín de guǎng fàn tǎo lùn.
    The plan sparked widespread discussion among residents.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

拆chāidemolish
迁qiānrelocate

拆 means demolish and 迁 means relocate, so 拆迁 covers both actions.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
斥
斥chì拆chāi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拆 uses 手 to show an action done by hand, with 斥 giving the sound. In an earlier related form, the hand part replaced an earth part to stress the action by hand.

Open 拆 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 迁 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Buildings & Structures

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