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伟大 (wěi dà) — great; grand; admirable; significant

Definition

伟大 praises people, achievements, or ideas as inspiring and admirable — more emphatic than 重要 ('important') and not used for physical size (that's 巨大).

adjective
greatgrandadmirablesignificant

Examples

  • 伟大。
    Tā shì yí wèi wěi dà de zuò jiā.
    He is a great writer.
  • 伟大。
    Wǒ men wèi zhè ge wěi dà de chéng jiù gǎn dào zì háo.
    We are proud of this great achievement.
  • 伟大。
    Zhè xiàng fā míng jù yǒu wěi dà de yì yì.
    This invention has great significance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

伟wěigreat
大dàlarge

伟 and 大 both mean great or large, so together they express grandness or greatness.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 偉; 伟 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi偉wěi
Same sound today

The traditional form 偉 combines 亻, a person, with 韋, which gives the sound. The simplified 伟 is a later shorthand.

Open 伟 →

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →
Appears in
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