维持 (wéi chí) — to maintain, to keep, to preserve | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

维持 (wéichí) means to keep an existing state going, often with effort (a friendship, market position, basic living). Stronger and more active than 保持, which simply holds a state steady.

verb

to maintainto keepto preserve

Examples

维持。
Tā men nǔ lì wéi chí zhè duàn yǒu yì.
They work hard to maintain this friendship.
维持。
Zhè fèn gōng zuò zhǐ néng wéi chí jī běn shēng huó.
This job can only sustain a basic living.
维持。
Gōng sī xī wàng wéi chí xiàn zài de shì chǎng dì wèi.
The company hopes to maintain its current market position.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

维wéimaintain

维 and 持 both mean keep or hold, so together they express maintaining something.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 維; 维 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

唯

唯wéi維wéi

Same sound today

In the traditional form 維, 糸 marks a thread meaning and 唯 provides the sound; the simplified 维 is a later shortened shape.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

寺sì持chí

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

持 combines 手 (hand), for the idea of holding, with 寺, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Abstract Concepts 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.