保住 (bǎo zhù) — to keep, to retain, to hold on to | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

保住 is a result verb meaning 'manage to keep/retain' — emphasizes successfully holding onto something (a job, a secret, a position) against risk. Pairs with 住, which signals a successful outcome.

verb

to keepto retainto hold on to

Examples

。
Tā bǎo zhù le gōng zuò.
He kept his job.
。
Wǒ men bì xū bǎo zhù zhè ge mì mì.
We must keep this secret.
。
Tā men zuì zhōng bǎo zhù le dì yī míng.
They ultimately retained the first-place position.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

保bǎoto keep

保 means to keep and 住 adds firmness, so 保住 is to keep something firmly.

Characters in this word

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

人人rénperson
子子zǐchild

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻主住

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

主

主zhǔ住zhù

Same sound today

住 pairs 亻, the person radical (written fully as 人), with 主, which supplies the sound.

Appears in

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