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招投标 (zhāo tóu biāo) — (noun) the process of inviting and submitting bids; bidding; (noun) auction

Definition

A formal/business term for the tendering process: inviting bids (招标) and submitting them (投标), as in government or construction projects. It is a set phrase covering the full procedure, not a single event.

noun
the process of inviting and submitting bidsbiddingauction

Examples

  • 招投标。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù zhèng zài gōng kāi zhāo tóu biāo.
    This project is currently undergoing open bidding.
  • 招投标。
    Tā men gōng sī zhòng biāo le nà ge zhāo tóu biāo.
    Their company won the bid for that tender.
  • 招投标。
    zhāo tóu biāo Guò chéng xū yào yán gé bǎo mì.
    The bidding process needs to be strictly confidential.

Origin

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
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

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
殳
殳shū投tóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 殳 gives the sound of the character.

Open 投 →

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 標; 标 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
票
票piào標biāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 標 pairs 木 with 票, and 票 gives the sound; the simplified 标 is the modern form of that traditional character.

Open 标 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6

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