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独吞 (dú tūn) — to monopolize; to take all for oneself

Definition

Verb meaning to take or keep everything for oneself — often profits, credit, or inheritance. Implies selfish exclusion of others, stronger and more negative than plain 占有.

verb
to monopolizeto take all for oneself

Examples

  • 独吞。
    Tā dú tūn le gōng sī de lì rùn.
    He monopolized the company's profits.
  • 独吞。
    Nǐ bù néng yí gè rén dú tūn gōng láo.
    You can't take all the credit for yourself.
  • 独吞，。
    Tā wèi le dú tūn yí chǎn, hé xiōng dì jiě mèi nào fān le.
    He fought with his siblings in order to take all the inheritance for himself.

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.

独dúalone
吞tūnswallow

'独' means alone and '吞' means swallow; together they picture taking everything in by oneself.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獨; 独 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ獨dú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 獨 pairs 犬 (dog) with 蜀, which gives the sound; the simplified 独 is a shorthand.

Open 独 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 吞 →
Appears in
Business & Commerce

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