青年团 (qīng nián tuán) — Youth Corps (referring to the China Youth Corps in Taiwan)

Definition

A political youth organization; in Chinese contexts usually refers to the China Youth Corps (中国青年团) in Taiwan. The mainland equivalent is 共青团 (Communist Youth League).

noun
Youth Corps (referring to the China Youth Corps in Taiwan)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 青年团。
    qīng nián tuán Shì tái wān de yí gè qīng nián zǔ zhī.
    The Youth Corps is a youth organization in Taiwan.
  • 青年团。
    Tā céng zài qīng nián tuán dān rèn zhì yuàn zhě.
    He once served as a volunteer in the Youth Corps.
  • 青年团。
    qīng nián tuán Měi nián dōu huì jǔ bàn xià lìng yíng huó dòng.
    The Youth Corps holds summer camp activities every year.

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.

青年youth
青qīngyoung年niányears
偏正Modifier + head
团tuáncorps

“青年” gives young people and “团” a corps, naming a youth organization.

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.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

Open 青 →

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

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 團; 团 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān團tuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 團 combines 囗 as a meaning part with 專 as a sound part; the story is about 團, not about 团.

Open 团 →

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