治理 (zhì lǐ) — to govern, administer, manage, or control; governance

Definition

治理 is the formal, written verb for governing or tackling problems on a large scale — a country, a city, pollution. Heavier and more political than the everyday 管理 ('manage/supervise' routine work).

verb
to governadministermanageor controlgovernance

Examples

  • 治理。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài nǔ lì zhì lǐ chéng shì de huán jìng.
    The government is working hard to manage the city's environment.
  • 治理。
    Yí gè guó jiā xū yào hǎo de lǐng dǎo rén lái zhì lǐ gè zhǒng wèn tí.
    A country needs good leaders to address various issues.
  • 治理。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī cǎi yòng le xīn de fāng fǎ zhì lǐ nèi bù zī yuán.
    This company has adopted new methods to manage internal resources.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

治zhìgovern
理lǐmanage

治 and 理 both mean manage or put in order, so together they mean to govern or administer.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
台
台tái治zhì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

治 has 水 (water) and 台; 台 gives the sound, and the character named a river.

Open 治 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

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