权威性 (quán wēi xìng) — (noun) authoritativeness; the quality of being authoritative; (adjective, attributive) authoritative

Definition

A noun referring to the quality of being authoritative — how much trust and weight a source, person, or institution carries. Often used as an attributive before a noun (权威性文献, 权威性研究).

noun
authoritativenessthe quality of being authoritative
adjective
(adjective, attributive) authoritative

Examples

  • 权威性,。
    Zhè xiàng yán jiū de quán wēi xìng hěn gāo, jié lùn zhí dé zhòng shì.
    The authoritativeness of this research is high, so the conclusions deserve attention.
  • 权威性。
    Tā yǐn yòng le dà liàng quán wēi xìng wén xiàn lái zhī chí zì jǐ de guān diǎn.
    He cited a large number of authoritative sources to support his viewpoint.
  • ,权威性。
    Zài xué shù jiè, zhè běn qī kān de quán wēi xìng wú yōng zhì yí.
    In academic circles, the authoritativeness of this journal is beyond doubt.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

权威authority
权quánpower威wēiprestige
联合Side by side
性xìngquality

权威 means authority, and 性 gives the quality of being authoritative.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →

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

威 is made by combining 戌 and 女.

Open 威 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
生
生shēng性xìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

性 is built from 忄 (the heart) and 生 (a sound clue). The heart part connects the word to a person's inner nature or quality.

Open 性 →

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