保证书 (bǎo zhèng shū) — written pledge; letter of guarantee

Definition

noun
written pledgeletter of guarantee
Measure word · 份

Examples

  • 保证书。
    Tā xiě le yí fèn bǎo zhèng shū jiāo gěi gōng sī.
    He wrote a letter of guarantee and submitted it to the company.
  • 保证书。
    Zhè fèn bǎo zhèng shū jù yǒu fǎ lǜ xiào lì.
    This written pledge has legal effect.
  • 保证书。
    Nǐ xū yào qiān yí fèn bǎo zhèng shū cái néng dài kuǎn.
    You need to sign a written pledge to get a loan.

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.

保证guarantee
保bǎoprotect证zhèngprove
联合Coordinate
书shūdocument

保 (protect) and 证 (prove) make guarantee, and 书 (document) makes it a written pledge.

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 →

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 證; 证 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
登
登dēng證zhèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 證 pairs 言, a words/speech part, with 登 as a sound clue; the simplified 证 is a later shorthand.

Open 证 →

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 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →
Appears in

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