拔除 (bá chú) — to pull out, to remove (weeds, teeth, obstacles)

Definition

拔除 means to pull something out and get rid of it — concrete for things with physical roots or embedment (weeds, teeth, obstacles). More forceful and physical than 去除, which works for anything unwanted.

verb
to pull outto remove (weeds, teeth, obstacles)

Examples

  • 拔除。
    Nóng mín zhèng zài dì lǐ bá chú zá cǎo.
    The farmer is pulling out weeds in the field.
  • 拔除。
    Yī shēng bāng wǒ bá chú le nà kē huài yá.
    The doctor helped me pull out that bad tooth.
  • 拔除。
    Wǒ men bì xū bá chú zhè ge xiàng mù zhōng de suǒ yǒu zhàng ài.
    We must remove all obstacles in this project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

拔bápull out
除chúremove

拔 means to pull out, and 除 means to remove; together they describe pulling something out and eliminating it.

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shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
犮
犮bá拔bá
Same sound today

In 拔, the left side 扌 is a hand and the right side 犮 gives the sound; the shape pictures a hand pulling.

Open 拔 →

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú除chú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Open 除 →

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