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歉 (qiàn) — apology, apologetic (bound form, used in compounds)

Definition

歉 is a bound morpheme meaning 'apology / apologetic' — it almost never stands alone and is used in compounds like 道歉, 抱歉, and 歉意.

bound form
apologyapologetic (bound form, used in compounds)

Examples

  • 。
    Nǐ bì xū xiàng tā dào qiàn.
    You must apologize to him.
  • ，。
    Hěn bào qiàn, wǒ lái wǎn le.
    I'm sorry, I'm late.
  • 。
    Tā duì wǒ men biǎo shì qiàn yì.
    He expressed his apology to us.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
欠欠qiànperson with mouth open
Sound part声符shēngfú
兼
兼jiān歉qiàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

歉 uses 兼 for its sound; 兼 is drawn as a hand holding two crop plants. It also uses 欠, a person with mouth open, to show feeling hunger after eating.

Appears in
Greetings & Politeness

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