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沿用 (yán yòng) — to continue to use (established methods, practices); to apply as before

Definition

沿用 means to keep using an existing method, rule, or tradition — usually a deliberate, official choice. Unlike 延续 ('to continue/last', often about time), 沿用 focuses on the practice itself.

verb
to continue to use (established methods, practices)to apply as before

Examples

  • 沿用。
    Zhè ge zhì dù yǐ jīng yán yòng le èr shí nián.
    This system has been in use for twenty years.
  • 沿用。
    Hěn duō xué xiào réng rán yán yòng chuán tǒng jiào cái.
    Many schools still continue to use traditional textbooks.
  • 沿用。
    Tā men jué dìng yán yòng zǔ xiān liú xià de chuán tǒng.
    They decided to continue the traditions left by their ancestors.

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.

沿yánfollow
用yònguse

沿 means following what came before and 用 means use, giving continue to use.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㕣
㕣㕣沿yán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

沿 pairs 氵 (water) with 㕣, which shows how it was pronounced; it originally meant the edge of a river, which led to the sense of moving along something.

Open 沿 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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