革除 (gé chú) — to abolish; to get rid of (old systems, customs, or habits); to expel; to dismiss (someone from a position or organization)

Definition

Formal verb meaning to abolish or dismiss completely. More forceful and written than the everyday 去掉 / 取消; it implies removing an established system, custom, or a person from a post.

verb
to abolishto get rid of (old systems, customs, or habits)to expelto dismiss (someone from a position or organization)

Examples

  • 革除。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng gé chú jiù zhì dù.
    The government decided to abolish the old system.
  • 革除。
    Tā yīn wèi wéi guī bèi gé chú zhí wù.
    He was dismissed from his post for violating rules.
  • 革除。
    Wǒ men yào gé chú bù liáng xí guàn.
    We need to get rid of bad habits.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

革géremove
除chúremove

革 and 除 both carry the sense of removing, so together they mean to abolish or get rid of old customs.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

革 is drawn as a stretched animal hide, with the upper part as the head and the lower part as the tail and legs.

Open 革 →

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú除chú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Open 除 →

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