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携带 (xié dài) — to carry (on one's person), to bring along

Definition

携带 (xié dài) is a formal 'to carry / bring along' (items on your person), written or official contexts like notices and rules. The everyday equivalent is 带; 背负 is for carrying loads on the back or bearing a burden.

verb
to carry (on one's person)to bring along

Examples

  • 携带。
    Lǚ kè kě yǐ xié dài yí jiàn shǒu tí xíng li.
    Passengers may carry one piece of carry-on luggage.
  • 携带。
    Dēng shān shí yào xié dài zú gòu de shuǐ hé shí wù.
    When mountain climbing, you must carry enough water and food.
  • 携带。
    Qǐng wù xié dài wéi jìn pǐn jìn rù huì chǎng.
    Please do not bring prohibited items into the venue.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

携xiécarry
带dàibring

携 and 带 both mean to carry or bring along, so together they express carrying something on the person.

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
⺘Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
雟
雟guī携xié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

携 pairs ⺘, a hand, with 雟, a sound part, to show carrying something hanging from the hand.

Open 携 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 帶; 带 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 帶 was drawn as a woven belt; the simplified 带 is a later shorthand.

Open 带 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 65000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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