监护人 (jiān hù rén) — guardian, custodian (legal or parental) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Legal term for a person with legal authority to care for and make decisions on behalf of a minor or incapacitated adult (the 被监护人 'ward'). Used in formal/legal contexts, not everyday speech.

noun

guardiancustodian (legal or parental)

Measure word · 个

Examples

监护人。
Wèi chéng nián rén de jiān hù rén bì xū jìn dào bǎo hù zé rèn.
The guardian of a minor must fulfill the duty of protection.
监护人。
Fǎ yuàn zhǐ dìng le yí wèi jiān hù rén lái zhào gù zhè ge hái zi.
The court appointed a guardian to take care of this child.
监护人，。
Zuò wéi jiān hù rén, tā yǒu quán tì bèi jiān hù rén zuò jué dìng.
As the guardian, he has the right to make decisions on behalf of the ward.

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.

监护supervise and protect

监jiānsupervise护hùprotect

联合Coordinate

监 and 护 mean supervising and protecting; 人 is the person.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 監; 监 is its simplified writing.

臥臥wòa person with an emphasized eye
皿皿mǐncontainer

The traditional form 監 shows 臥, a person with an emphasized eye, looking into 皿, a container; the simplified 监 is a later shorthand.

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

扌户护

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

户

户hù护hù

Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

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