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中奖 (zhòng jiǎng) — to win a prize (in a lottery, raffle, or contest of chance)

Definition

中奖 (zhòng jiǎng) specifically means winning a prize by chance — a lottery ticket, raffle, or drawing. Unlike 获奖 (winning an award for merit), there's no skill involved; compare 抽奖, which is the act of drawing, not winning.

verb
to win a prize (in a lottery, raffle, or contest of chance)

Examples

  • ，中奖。
    Tā mǎi le yì zhāng cǎi piào, jié guǒ zhòng jiǎng le.
    He bought a lottery ticket and ended up winning a prize.
  • 中奖，。
    Yào shi zhòng jiǎng, wǒ jiù qǐng nǐ chī fàn.
    If I win a prize, I'll treat you to dinner.
  • ，。
    Tā zhōng guò yí cì jiǎng, fēi cháng gāo xìng.
    He once won a prize and was very happy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

中zhōnghit/win
奖jiǎngprize

中 means to hit or win, and 奖 is the prize won.

Characters in this word

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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 獎; 奖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
將
將jiāng獎jiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 獎 pairs 將 as a sound part with 犬, a dog; the simplified 奖 is a later shorthand. The evidence says the dog part's meaning is unclear, perhaps referring to guiding a dog by voice.

Open 奖 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Gambling & Chance

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