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保重 (bǎo zhòng) — to take care of oneself (often used when parting)

Definition

A fixed farewell phrase meaning 'take care (of yourself)!' — used when parting, like 珍重. Not for warning of danger (当心/留神) or for maintaining things (保养).

verb
to take care of oneself (often used when parting)

Examples

  • 保重！
    Nǐ duō bǎo zhòng!
    Take good care of yourself!
  • 保重，。
    Lù shang bǎo zhòng, dào le gěi wǒ fā xiāo xi.
    Take care on the road; send me a message when you arrive.
  • 保重，。
    bǎo zhòng, Wǒ men xià cì zài jiàn.
    Take care; see you next time.

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
重zhòngvalue

保 means to protect, and 重 means to value or cherish, so the parts combine to mean taking care of oneself.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →
Appears in
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