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选票 (xuǎn piào) — ballot (the piece of paper used to cast a vote in an election)

Definition

noun
ballot (the piece of paper used to cast a vote in an election)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 选票。
    Qǐng bǎ nǐ de xuǎn piào tóu jìn tóu piào xiāng.
    Please put your ballot into the ballot box.
  • 选票。
    Gōng zuò rén yuán zhèng zài yì zhāng yì zhāng dì shù xuǎn piào.
    The staff are counting the ballots one by one.
  • 选票。
    Měi zhāng xuǎn piào dōu yào jīng guò rèn zhēn hé duì.
    Every ballot must be carefully verified.

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.

选xuǎnchoose
票piàoticket

选 gives choose/elect, and 票 gives ticket, yielding a ticket for choosing or voting.

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 選; 选 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
巽
巽xùn選xuǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 選 combines 止 with 巽, which gives the sound xùn; its sense of choosing is explained as rejecting or sending someone back. Simplified 选 is a shorthand.

Open 选 →

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

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 𢍱𢍱𢍱to rise high

票 combines 火 (fire) and 𢍱 (to rise high), originally representing sparks rising up.

Open 票 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

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