操守 (cāo shǒu) — personal integrity; moral principles

Definition

A formal, written noun for one's personal moral integrity or principles — used in elevated contexts (e.g., professional ethics), not everyday speech.

noun

personal integritymoral principles

，操守。
Zuò wéi yì míng fǎ guān, tā yǒu zhe hěn gāo de zhí yè cāo shǒu.
As a judge, he has high professional integrity.
，操守。
Zài lì yì miàn qián, tā shǐ zhōng jiān chí zì jǐ de cāo shǒu.
In the face of interests, he always adhered to his own integrity.
操守。
Yí gè rén de cāo shǒu bǐ néng lì gèng zhòng yào.
A person's integrity is more important than their ability.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

操cāomoral conduct

守shǒuobservance

操守 blends 操 (moral conduct) and 守 (steadfast observance) into a person's integrity.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

喿

喿zào操cāo

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

The left part 手 shows a hand, indicating an action done by hand. The right part 喿 gives the sound.

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

宀寸守

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Appears in