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祝酒 (zhù jiǔ) — to propose a toast; to drink a toast

Definition

祝酒 is the verb for the formal act of raising a glass and saying a toast at a banquet or celebration — usually as a short speech. It pairs with 词 (祝酒词, toast speech) and 杯 (祝一杯酒).

verb
to propose a toastto drink a toast

Examples

  • ，祝酒。
    Zài yàn huì shàng, zhǔ rén shǒu xiān xiàng dà jiā zhù jiǔ.
    At the banquet, the host first proposed a toast to everyone.
  • 。
    Tā xiàng wǒ zhù le yì bēi jiǔ.
    He proposed a toast to me with a glass of wine.
  • 祝酒，。
    Dà jiā zhàn qǐ lái yì qǐ zhù jiǔ, qìng zhù xīn nián.
    Everyone stood up and toasted together to celebrate the New Year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

祝zhùtoast
酒jiǔwine

'祝' toast and '酒' wine combine to mean propose a toast.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

祝 shows a kneeling person with an open mouth beside an altar.

Open 祝 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →
Appears in
Alcohol & Tobacco

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