辩论会 (biàn lùn huì) — debate (competition or event)

Definition

noun
debate (competition or event)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 辩论会。
    Wǒ men xué xiào xià ge yuè yào jǔ bàn yì chǎng biàn lùn huì.
    Our school is going to host a debate next month.
  • 辩论会。
    Tā zài biàn lùn huì shàng de fā yán fēi cháng jīng cǎi.
    His speech at the debate was very brilliant.
  • 辩论会。
    Zhè cì biàn lùn huì de zhǔ tí shì guān yú huán bǎo de.
    The topic of this debate is about environmental protection.

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.

辩论debate
辩biànargue论lùndiscuss
联合Side by side
会huìmeeting

“辩论” combines arguing and discussing, while “会” is a meeting, so the word names a debate event.

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 辯; 辩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
辡
辡biàn辯biàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 辯 pairs 言, meaning say, with 辡, which gives the sound; the simplified 辩 is a later shorthand.

Open 辩 →

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 論; 论 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
侖
侖lún論lùn
Same sound today

The traditional form 論 pairs 言 (“say”) with 侖 as a sound component; the simplified 论 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 论 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →

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