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私营 (sī yíng) — privately-owned, private

Definition

私营 describes a privately run business (公司、企业), emphasizing private ownership of an enterprise. Pairs with 民营 (also 'privately run,' often for factories/commercial firms); contrasts with 私有, which is a verb meaning 'to privately own (property).'

adjective
privately-ownedprivate

Examples

  • 私营。
    Zhè jiā sī yíng gōng sī chéng lì yǐ jīng shí nián le.
    This private company has been established for ten years.
  • 私营。
    sī yíng Qǐ yè de xiào lǜ wǎng wǎng bǐ jiào gāo.
    Private enterprises are often more efficient.
  • 私营。
    Tā jué dìng bǎ gōng chǎng zhuǎn wéi sī yíng jīng yíng.
    He decided to convert the factory to private operation.

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.

私sīprivate
营yíngoperate

私 means private and 营 means to operate, so 私营 describes privately operated businesses.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
厶
厶sī私sī
Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

Open 私 →

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 營; 营 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宮宮gōngpalace
Sound part声符shēngfú
熒
熒yíng營yíng
Same sound today

The traditional form 營 pairs 宮 (palace) with 熒 as a sound part, depicting a person working all night with a light on his house; the simplified 营 is a later abbreviation.

Open 营 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Business & Commerce

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