三合会 (Sān hé huì) — (historical) Triad Society, a Qing-era anti-Manchu secret society; (modern) triad, organized crime group linked to Chinese secret societies

Definition

Historical name (Qing dynasty) for the 'Triad Society', an anti-Manchu secret society. In modern usage, 三合会 refers to Chinese organized crime groups, especially as portrayed in Hong Kong cinema.

noun
(historical) Triad Society, a Qing-era anti-Manchu secret society(modern) triad, organized crime group linked to Chinese secret societies
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，三合会。
    Qīng cháo chū qī, Sān hé huì shì yí gè fǎn duì mǎn zhōu tǒng zhì de mì mì zǔ zhī.
    In the early Qing dynasty, the Triad Society was a secret organization that opposed Manchu rule.
  • 三合会。
    Xiāng gǎng diàn yǐng jīng cháng miáo xiě Sān hé huì de nèi bù dòu zhēng.
    Hong Kong movies often depict the internal struggles of triads.
  • 三合会。
    Jǐng fāng zuì jìn pò huò le yí gè yǔ Sān hé huì yǒu guān de dà xíng fàn zuì jí tuán.
    The police recently uncovered a large criminal group connected to the Triad Society.

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.

三合three-way union
三sānthree合héunion
偏正Modifier + head
会huìsociety

三 'three' and 合 'union' name the society's three-way bond, and 会 marks it as an association.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

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

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

Open 合 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →
Appears in
Groups & OrganizationsCrime & Police

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