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猜中 (cāi zhōng) — to guess correctly, to figure out

Definition

猜中 is the result of 猜 — you guessed AND got it right (the 中 zhòng marks a successful hit). Compare with 猜到, which just means 'to figure out / guess correctly' and is more common in everyday speech.

verb
to guess correctlyto figure out

Examples

  • 猜中。
    Tā yí xià jiù cāi zhōng le dá àn.
    He guessed the answer right away.
  • 猜中？
    Nǐ cāi zhōng le ma?
    Did you guess correctly?
  • 猜中。
    Tā zǒng shì néng cāi zhōng wǒ de xīn shì.
    She can always guess what's on my mind.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

猜cāiguess
中zhōnghit

猜 “guess” and 中 “hit” mean the guess is correct.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng猜cāi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

猜 pairs 犭, the dog radical (full form 犬), with 青 as the sound part.

Open 猜 →

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →
Appears in
Thinking & Cognition

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