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阶级 (jiē jí) — (noun) social class, class

Definition

阶级 refers specifically to 'social class' in a political/Marxist sense (e.g., class struggle 阶级斗争). 阶层 is a broader, neutral 'stratum' (income/professional layers). 等级 is 'grade/rank' (quality, status).

noun
social classclass
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 阶级。
    Tā men yán jiū bù tóng jiē jí zhī jiān de guān xì.
    They study the relationships between different social classes.
  • ，阶级。
    Zài mǎ kè sī kàn lái, jiē jí dòu zhēng tuī dòng lì shǐ fā zhǎn.
    In Marx's view, class struggle drives historical development.
  • 阶级。
    Xiàn dài shè huì zhōng de jiē jí jié gòu biàn de gèng jiā fù zá.
    The class structure in modern society has become more complex.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

阶jiērank
级jígrade

阶 and 级 both refer to rank or grade, together naming a social class.

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 階; 阶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
皆
皆jiē階jiē
Same sound today

The traditional form 階 uses 阝 (written in full as 阜) to relate to its meaning and 皆 to show its sound; the simplified 阶 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 阶 →

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 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Society & Public Life

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