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保养 (bǎo yǎng) — 动词 maintenance

Definition

保养 covers both 'maintain' (equipment, vehicles) and 'take care of' (health, skin) — a broader verb than 维修, which is only for servicing machines. Compare 养生 (health cultivation as a lifestyle) and 保重 (a parting phrase).

verb
动词 maintenance

Examples

  • 保养。
    Wǒ dìng qī gěi qì chē zuò bǎo yǎng.
    I have my car regularly serviced.
  • 保养。
    Tā měi tiān yòng hù fū pǐn bǎo yǎng pí fū.
    She uses skincare products to care for her skin every day.
  • 保养。
    Lǎo nián rén yīng gāi duō zhù yì bǎo yǎng shēn tǐ.
    Elderly people should pay more attention to maintaining their health.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

保bǎoprotect
养yǎngnurture

保 means to protect, and 养 means to nurture, so together they mean maintaining something by protecting and nurturing it.

Characters in this word

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

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

Open 保 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Miscellaneous Objects

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