政党 (zhèng dǎng) — political party | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

政党 means a formal, organized political party (typically a national party). It is more specific than 政治 (politics / political in general); the standalone 党 alone often refers to 'the Party' (esp. the CPC) or historical factions.

noun

political party

Measure word · 个

Examples

政党。
Zhè ge zhèng dǎng dài biǎo le xǔ duō gōng rén de lì yì.
This political party represents the interests of many workers.
政党。
Tā jiā rù le yí gè xīn de zhèng dǎng.
He joined a new political party.
政党。
Liǎng zhèng dǎng zhī jiān de jìng zhēng yuè lái yuè jī liè.
The competition between the two political parties is becoming increasingly intense.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

政zhèngpolitics

政 means political or governmental, and 党 means party, so together they name a political party.

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

攴攴pūaction

Sound part声符shēngfú

正

正zhèng政zhèng

Same sound today

政 combines 正, which gives the sound, with 攴, an action-related part.

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

儿儿érhuman

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng党dǎng

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

党 pairs 尚, giving its sound, with 儿, a human.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Government & Politics

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