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维权 (wéi quán) — to defend (legal) rights; to stand up for one's rights

Definition

A verb-object phrase: 维 (maintain) + 权 (rights). It means actively standing up for legal rights, especially in consumer or labor contexts, rather than simply 'protecting' them in general.

verb
to defend (legal) rightsto stand up for one's rights

Examples

  • 维权。
    Xiāo fèi zhě yīng dāng xué huì yòng fǎ lǜ wéi quán.
    Consumers should learn to defend their rights through legal means.
  • 维权。
    Hěn duō yuán gōng tōng guò láo dòng zhòng cái wéi quán.
    Many employees defend their rights through labor arbitration.
  • 维权。
    Wǎng zhàn wèi yòng hù de yǐn sī quán wéi quán.
    The website defends users' privacy rights.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

维wéimaintain
权quánrights

维 means maintain, and 权 means rights, so the idea is standing up for rights.

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.

Open 维 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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