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珍贵 (zhēn guì) — precious; valuable

Definition

珍贵 (zhēnguì) means 'precious' in a heartfelt, often non-monetary sense — memories, gifts, relationships, species. 贵重 and 值钱 focus on market value; 宝贵 overlaps heavily and is nearly interchangeable here.

adjective
preciousvaluable

Examples

  • 珍贵，。
    Zhè shì yí jiàn zhēn guì de lǐ wù, wǒ yì zhí liú zhe.
    This is a precious gift; I've kept it all along.
  • 珍贵。
    Nà duàn jì yì duì wǒ lái shuō fēi cháng zhēn guì.
    That memory is very precious to me.
  • 珍贵。
    Xióng māo shì zhōng guó de yì zhǒng zhēn guì dòng wù.
    The panda is a precious animal in China.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

珍zhēnprecious
贵guìvaluable

珍贵 combines 珍 as precious and 贵 as valuable to mean highly valuable.

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
玉玉yù
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐱
㐱㐱珍
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

珍 pairs 玉, a jade or gem, with 㐱, which gives the sound; the 玉 part fits its early meaning of a rich gemstone.

Open 珍 →

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 貴; 贵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèimoney cowrie
Sound part声符shēngfú
臾
臾yú貴guì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貴 uses 貝, a money cowrie, for meaning and 臾 for sound. The simplified 贵 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the old parts.

Open 贵 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 6Good & Bad

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