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酌情 (zhuó qíng) — to act at one's discretion, taking the specific circumstances into account

Definition

Formal verb: to act at one's discretion according to the situation. Usually appears before a verb (酌情处理 'handle as you see fit'), so it doesn't take its own object.

verb
to act at one's discretion, taking the specific circumstances into account

Examples

  • 酌情。
    Gōng sī jiāng gēn jù shì chǎng qíng kuàng zhuó qíng tiáo zhěng jià gé.
    The company will adjust prices at its discretion based on market conditions.
  • ，酌情。
    Duì yú wéi guī xíng wéi, guǎn lǐ yuán huì zhuó qíng chǔ fá.
    The administrator will impose penalties at their discretion for violations.
  • 酌情。
    Píng wěi kě yǐ zhuó qíng gěi xuǎn shǒu é wài jiā fēn.
    The judges may award extra points to contestants at their discretion.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

酌zhuóconsider
情qíngcircumstances

酌 means weigh or consider and 情 means circumstances; together they mean to act according to the situation.

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
酉酉yǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo酌zhuó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酌 is built from 酉 and 勺, where 酉 relates to its meaning and 勺 supplies the sound.

Open 酌 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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