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权威 (quán wēi) — (noun) authority; power and prestige; (adjective) authoritative

Definition

As a noun, 权威 is an authority figure or body whose expertise commands respect — narrower than 权力 (political power) and more personal than 权 (rights). As an adjective, it means 'authoritative' (a trusted source).

noun
authoritypower and prestige
adjective
authoritative

Examples

  • 权威。
    Zhè wèi jiào shòu shì yǔ yán xué quán wēi.
    This professor is an authority in linguistics.
  • 权威。
    quán wēi Jī gòu fā bù le zuì xīn shù jù.
    The authoritative agency released the latest data.
  • 权威。
    Tiǎo zhàn quán wēi xū yào hěn dà de yǒng qì.
    Challenging authority requires great courage.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

权quánpower
威wēiprestige

权 'power' and 威 'prestige' combine to mean recognized authority.

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts

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