松绑 (sōng bǎng) — to untie (someone bound); to relax restrictions; to deregulate (figurative)

Definition

A separable verb that literally means 'untie (a bound person)' and figuratively means 'deregulate, relax restrictions' (on industries, policies). Common in economic and political writing.

verb
to untie (someone bound)to relax restrictionsto deregulate (figurative)

Examples

  • 松绑。
    Jǐng fāng lì kè gěi nà ge rén zhì sōng bǎng le.
    The police immediately untied the hostage.
  • 松绑。
    Xīn zhèng cè zhǐ zài wèi zhōng xiǎo qǐ yè sōng bǎng jiǎn fù.
    The new policy aims to deregulate and lighten the burden for small and medium-sized enterprises.
  • 。
    Zhèng fǔ qù nián gěi zhè ge háng yè sōng le bǎng.
    The government relaxed restrictions on this industry last year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

松sōngloosen
绑bǎngbind

松 'loosen' acts on 绑 'binding' to mean untie or free.

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
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng松sōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

松 uses 木 (wood) to show it is a tree, and 公 to give the sound.

Open 松 →

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 綁; 绑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìthin silk; thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
邦
邦bāng綁bǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 綁 pairs 糸 (thin silk; thread) with 邦 (bāng), which gives the sound. The simplified 绑 is a later shorthand.

Open 绑 →

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