授受不亲 (shòu shòu bù qīn) — (set phrase, historical) prohibition against direct contact between men and women (in Confucian propriety)

Definition

A Confucian etiquette principle: men and women should not hand things to each other directly or touch. Now used mostly historically to describe old-fashioned propriety.

idiom
(set phrase, historical) prohibition against direct contact between men and women (in Confucian propriety)

Examples

  • 授受不亲，。
    Gǔ dài lǐ jiào jiǎng jiu nán nǚ shòu shòu bù qīn, xiàn zài hěn duō rén jué de zhè tài bǎo shǒu le.
    Ancient rites stressed that men and women should not touch; many people today think this is too conservative.
  • 授受不亲。
    Zhè bù gǔ zhuāng jù lǐ yǒu yì chǎng xì biǎo xiàn le nán nǚ shòu shòu bù qīn de lǐ yí.
    In this period drama, there is a scene that shows the etiquette of not touching between men and women.
  • 授受不亲，。
    Suī rán shòu shòu bù qīn shì jiù shí dài de guī ju, dàn liǎo jiě tā yǒu zhù yú lǐ jiě chuán tǒng wén huà.
    Although 'no contact between the sexes' is an old-fashioned rule, understanding it helps in grasping traditional culture.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

授受giving and receiving
授shòugive受shòureceive
联合Side by side
不亲not intimate
不bùnot亲qīnintimate
偏正Modifier + head

授 and 受 give and receive, while 不亲 says this exchange must not involve intimate contact.

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
受
受shòu授shòu
Same sound today

授 is built from 手 and 受. 受 gives the sound, and 手 is a hand.

Open 授 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

Open 受 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

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