放走 (fàng zǒu) — to release, to set free, to let go

Definition

verb
to releaseto set freeto let go

Examples

  • 放走。
    Jǐng chá fàng zǒu le nà ge fàn rén.
    The police released that prisoner.
  • 放走。
    Tā bǎ xiǎo niǎo fàng zǒu le.
    He set the little bird free.
  • 放走，。
    Bié fàng zǒu tā, tā shì huài rén.
    Don't let him go; he is a bad person.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

放fàngrelease
走zǒugo

放 means to release and 走 means to go, giving the sense of letting someone go away.

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
攵Written in full as攴pūhand, action
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng放fàng
Same sound today

放 uses 方 for its sound and 攵, a hand/action part, to mark an action of release.

Open 放 →

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

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

Open 走 →

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