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羁绊 (jī bàn) — to hinder, to restrain, to tie down (used in formal/literary contexts)

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning to hinder or bind (people or progress). Stronger and more abstract than 束缚, and used mostly in writing rather than everyday speech.

verb
to hinderto restrainto tie down (used in formal/literary contexts)

Examples

  • 羁绊，。
    Tā bù xiǎng bèi jiā tíng jī bàn, jué dìng qù guó wài fā zhǎn.
    He didn't want to be tied down by family, so he decided to go abroad for development.
  • 羁绊。
    Zhè xiē chuán tǒng guān niàn jī bàn le shè huì de fā zhǎn.
    These traditional concepts have hindered the development of society.
  • 羁绊，。
    Tā zhōng yú bǎi tuō le guò qù de jī bàn, kāi shǐ le xīn shēng huó.
    She finally broke free from the bonds of the past and started a new life.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

羁jītether
绊bàntrip

羁 'tether' and 绊 'trip' combine to mean restrain or tie down.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 羁 →

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 絆; 绊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn絆bàn
Same sound today

In 絆, the traditional form of 绊, the part 糸 shows silk and 半 gives the sound.

Open 绊 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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