权术 (quán shù) — political maneuvering; power games

Definition

权术 means political maneuvering — the clever, often ruthless tactics used to gain and keep power. It carries a negative tone, unlike neutral terms for governance or administration.

noun
political maneuveringpower games
Easily confused

Examples

  • 权术，。
    Tā jīng tōng quán shù, zài guān chǎng shàng bù bù gāo shēng.
    He is skilled at political maneuvering and rises step by step in officialdom.
  • 权术。
    Hěn duō rén rèn wéi quán shù bǐ néng lì gèng zhòng yào.
    Many people think that power games are more important than ability.
  • 权术。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiē lù le zhèng jiè zhōng de quán shù.
    This film exposes the power games in political circles.

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.

权quánpower
术shùtechnique

权 means power and 术 means technique, together pointing to techniques of manipulating power.

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 →

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 術; 术 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíngstreet, path
Sound part声符shēngfú
朮
朮zhú術shù
Same sound today

The traditional form 術 has 行 (street, path) beside 朮, which gives the sound; the simplified 术 is a later shorthand.

Open 术 →

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