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追寻 (zhuī xún) — to pursue, to seek, to track down

Definition

追寻 means 'to pursue or track down' something abstract like truth, dreams, or a person's whereabouts — more literary and persistent than 追求, which is the everyday word for 'chase/pursue' goals.

verb
to pursueto seekto track down

Examples

  • 追寻。
    Tā yì shēng dōu zài zhuī xún zhēn lǐ.
    He spent his whole life pursuing truth.
  • 追寻。
    Jǐng chá zhèng zài zhuī xún xián yí rén de xià luò.
    The police are tracking down the suspect's whereabouts.
  • 追寻，。
    Wǒ men zhuī xún zhe mèng xiǎng, cóng bú fàng qì.
    We pursue our dreams and never give up.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

追zhuīpursue
寻xúnseek

追 (pursue) and 寻 (seek) combine as parallel actions of chasing and searching.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòmovement
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂤
𠂤𠂤追zhuī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 辶 part shows movement, while 𠂤 gives the sound, for the sense of moving after or pursuing.

Open 追 →

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

寻 is formed from 又 (hand) and 寸 (hand).

Open 寻 →
Appears in
Thinking & Cognition

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