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敬礼 (jìng lǐ) — to salute

Definition

敬礼 is a fixed phrase meaning 'to salute' — a physical, often military gesture (e.g., to a flag). Unlike 致敬 ('pay tribute to', used figuratively or formally in writing), 敬礼 describes the act itself.

verb
to salute

Examples

  • 敬礼。
    Tā měi tiān xiàng guó qí jìng lǐ.
    He salutes the national flag every day.
  • 敬礼。
    Jūn guān xiàng zhǎng guān jìng lǐ zhì yì.
    The officer saluted the commander to pay respects.
  • 。
    Tā xiàng wǒ jìng le yí gè lǐ.
    He made a salute to me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

敬jìngrespect
礼lǐcourtesy

敬礼 joins 敬 (respect) and 礼 (courtesy) into the act of saluting.

Characters in this word

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

  • 茍茍jìkneeling person or sitting dog
  • 攴攴pūhand holding a stick, authority

敬 is possibly formed from 茍, a kneeling person or sitting dog, and 攴, a hand holding a stick.

Open 敬 →

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 禮; 礼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
礻Written in full as示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ禮lǐ
Same sound today

The traditional form 禮 pairs 礻 (altar) with 豊, a sound part, for performing rites at the altar; the simplified 礼 is a later shorthand.

Open 礼 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Greetings & Politeness

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