众议院 (zhòng yì yuàn) — House of Representatives (U.S.)

Definition

The lower house of the U.S. Congress (House of Representatives). In China the lower house is called 人民代表大会, not 众议院 — this term applies to the U.S. system.

noun
House of Representatives (U.S.)

Examples

  • 众议院。
    zhòng yì yuàn Shì měi guó guó huì de zhòng yào zǔ chéng bù fen.
    The House of Representatives is an important part of the U.S. Congress.
  • 众议院。
    Zhè wèi yì yuán zài zhòng yì yuàn gōng zuò le èr shí nián.
    This congressman has worked in the House of Representatives for twenty years.
  • 众议院。
    zhòng yì yuàn De yì zhǎng yóu duō shù dǎng xuǎn jǔ chǎn shēng.
    The Speaker of the House of Representatives is elected by the majority party.

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.

众议the many deliberate
众zhòngthe many议yìdeliberate
主谓Subject + predicate
院yuànchamber

众议, the many deliberating, names the chamber 院.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Open 众 →

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 議; 议 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yántalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
義
義yì議⁰yì
Same sound today

The traditional form 議 pairs 言 (talk) with 義 as a sound component; the simplified 议 is a later shorthand.

Open 议 →

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
完
完wán院yuàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

院 is built from 阝, written in full as 阜, and 完, which gives the sound.

Open 院 →
Appears in
Groups & OrganizationsGovernment & Politics

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