挽救 (wǎn jiù) — to save, to rescue (from a serious situation) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

挽救 focuses on saving something on the brink of loss — a person in crisis, a failing company, a relationship — more salvage-oriented than 拯救 (rescue from danger). Pairs with 挽回 to retrieve situations, but 挽回 emphasizes recovering what was lost.

verb

to saveto rescue (from a serious situation)

Examples

挽救。
Xiāo fáng yuán chéng gōng wǎn jiù le bèi kùn zài lóu lǐ de rén.
The firefighters successfully rescued the people trapped in the building.
挽救。
Tā men zhèng zài nǔ lì wǎn jiù bīn lín pò chǎn de gōng sī.
They are working hard to save the company that is on the verge of bankruptcy.
挽救。
Zhè duàn gǎn qíng yǐ jīng wú fǎ wǎn jiù le.
This relationship can no longer be saved.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

Pulling 挽 and saving 救 together express rescuing someone from a bad situation.

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.

扌免挽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

免

免miǎn挽wǎn

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

In 挽, the left part 扌 is a hand symbol, showing an action done with the hand. The right part 免 supplies the sound.

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

攴攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

求

求qiú救jiù

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Safety & Danger 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.