登基 (dēng jī) — (formal) to ascend the throne, to be enthroned | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal verb for an emperor ascending the throne. Used only in historical or royal contexts — not for ordinary leaders taking office.

verb

(formal) to ascend the throneto be enthroned

Examples

登基。
Xīn huáng dì míng nián dēng jī.
The new emperor will ascend the throne next year.
，“”。
Tā dēng le jī zhī hòu, gǎi nián hào wèi "yǒng hé".
After he ascended the throne, he changed the era name to 'Yonghe'.
登基。
Lì shǐ shàng hěn duō huáng dì zài dēng jī shí dōu hěn nián qīng.
Historically, many emperors were very young when they ascended the throne.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

基jīthrone

The word combines 登, meaning to ascend, with 基, meaning the throne, describing enthronement.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

癶豆登

癶癶bōleft and right feet
豆豆dòupictogrammic of raised object; stepping stone

登 pairs 癶, left and right feet, with 豆, a raised object or stepping stone; its older form also showed two hands at the bottom, which later dropped.

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

其土基

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí基jī

Same sound today

The lower 土 means earth, and the upper 其 gives the sound; together they form the idea of a foundation of earth.

Appears in

Government & Politics

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