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保守派 (bǎo shǒu pài) — conservatives

Definition

A political or ideological group favoring tradition and opposing rapid change. As a noun referring to people, it pairs naturally with 改革 (reform) and 激进 (radical).

noun
conservatives

Examples

  • ，保守派。
    Zài hěn duō guó jiā, bǎo shǒu pài dōu zhī chí chuán tǒng jià zhí guān.
    In many countries, conservatives support traditional values.
  • ，保守派。
    Zhè cì de xuǎn jǔ zhōng, bǎo shǒu pài huò dé le bù shǎo xuǎn piào.
    In this election, conservatives gained quite a few votes.
  • 保守派，。
    Tā shì yí wèi jiān dìng de bǎo shǒu pài, fǎn duì jī jìn de gǎi gé.
    He is a steadfast conservative who opposes radical reforms.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

保守conservative
保bǎomaintain守shǒuguard
联合Coordinate
派pàifaction

保守 means maintaining and keeping old ways, and 派 names the faction that holds to them.

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.

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

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
水水shuǐwater; river
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

Open 派 →
Appears in
Groups & OrganizationsGovernment & Politics

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