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更为 (gèng wéi) — even more; all the more

Definition

更为 (gēng wéi) means 'even more' and is more formal/written than the everyday 更 — typical of reports, essays, and academic prose.

adverb
even moreall the more

Examples

  • 更为。
    Zhè yàng chǔ lǐ wèn tí gèng wéi gāo xiào.
    Handling problems this way is even more efficient.
  • 更为。
    Tā de tài dù gèng wéi rèn zhēn le.
    His attitude became even more serious.
  • 更为。
    Tóu zī zhī qián xū yào gèng wéi jǐn shèn dì fēn xī.
    Before investing, one needs to analyze even more carefully.

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.

更gèngmore
为wèibe

更 gives 'more' and 为 gives 'be', together meaning even more.

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pūhand holding a whip; action
Sound part声符shēngfú
𰀒
𰀒𰀒更gēng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The old form showed two chariots, 𰀒; 攴, a hand holding a whip, was added to show action, and one chariot part was dropped. The remaining part changed into the shape seen in 更.

Open 更 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →
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