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行话 (háng huà) — professional jargon; insider terminology; slang used within a particular trade or group

Definition

Specialized vocabulary used inside a trade, profession, or in-group — outsiders won't follow it. Often contrasted with 术语 (more formal, academic 'terminology') or 黑话 (slang for the underground/criminal world).

noun
professional jargoninsider terminologyslang used within a particular trade or group

Examples

  • 行话。
    Zhè xiē háng huà wài háng rén gēn běn tīng bù dǒng.
    Outsiders simply cannot understand this jargon.
  • ，行话。
    Gāng rù zhí shí, wǒ huā le hǎo jǐ gè yuè cái xué huì gōng sī de háng huà.
    When I first joined, it took me several months to learn the company's insider language.
  • 行话行话。
    Fǎ lǜ jiè de háng huà hé yī xué jiè de háng huà wán quán bù tóng.
    The jargon of the legal world is completely different from that of the medical world.

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.

行xíngtrade
话huàspeech

“行话” is the “话” (speech or words) of a “行” (trade or profession).

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
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