辩论 (biàn lùn) — to debate, to argue over | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

辩论 focuses on a formal, structured debate (two sides, often a 场 of it), unlike the more general arguing of 争论 or the one-sided self-defense of 辩解. A 辩- word, it pairs naturally with 场/次 as a bounded event.

verb

to debateto argue over

Measure word · 场, 次

Examples

辩论。
Tā men zhèng zài biàn lùn zhè ge wèn tí.
They are debating this issue.
辩论。
Wǒ men biàn lùn le zhěng zhěng yí gè xià wǔ.
We debated for an entire afternoon.
辩论。
Shuāng fāng biàn lùn dé hěn jī liè.
Both sides debated fiercely.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

论lùndiscuss

辩 and 论 both mean to argue or discuss, so together they denote debate.

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

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.

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.

言侖論

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Communication & Speech Conflict & Agreement 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.