民主党 (Mín zhǔ dǎng) — the Democratic Party (esp. of the US)

Definition

noun

the Democratic Party (esp. of the US)

Measure word · 个

民主党。
Mín zhǔ dǎng Shì měi guó de zhǔ yào zhèng dǎng zhī yī.
The Democratic Party is one of the major political parties in the US.
民主党。
Tā jiā rù le dāng dì de yí gè Mín zhǔ dǎng.
He joined a local Democratic Party organization.
，民主党。
Jīn nián de xuǎn jǔ zhōng, Mín zhǔ dǎng huò dé le duō shù xí wèi.
In this year's election, the Democratic Party won a majority of seats.

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.

民主democracy

主谓Subject + predicate

'民主' gives people's mastery, '党' gives party, together naming a Democratic party.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

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

儿儿érhuman

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

党 pairs 尚, giving its sound, with 儿, a human.

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