TongTong
Sign in

文凭 (wén píng) — diploma

Definition

noun
diploma
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 文凭。
    Tā huā le sì nián shí jiān cái ná dào wén píng.
    It took him four years to get his diploma.
  • 文凭，。
    Méi yǒu dà xué wén píng, zhǎo gōng zuò què shí bù róng yì.
    Without a college diploma, it's really not easy to find a job.
  • 文凭。
    Zhè zhāng wén píng shì tā duō nián nǔ lì de zhèng míng.
    This diploma is proof of his years of effort.

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.

文wénwriting
凭píngcredential

文凭 is a 凭, credential, in written 文 form, proving qualifications.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

Open 文 →

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 憑; 凭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
馮
馮féng憑píng
Same sound today

In the traditional form 憑, 心 relates to the heart or mind, and 馮 gives the sound. The simplified 凭 is a later abbreviation, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 凭 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Exams & Grades

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.