修理 (xiū lǐ) — to repair, to fix; to prune, to trim | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

修理 means to repair or fix things (machines, bikes, etc.) and also to prune plants. For routine maintenance of equipment use 维修; for restoring damaged buildings or artifacts use 修复.

verb

to repairto fixto pruneto trim

Examples

修理。
Wǒ de zì xíng chē xū yào xiū lǐ yí xià.
My bicycle needs a repair.
修理。
Tā huā le yí gè xià wǔ xiū lǐ yuàn zi lǐ de shù.
He spent an afternoon pruning the trees in the yard.
，修理？
Zhè kuài shǒu biǎo huài le, nǐ néng bāng wǒ xiū lǐ ma?
This watch is broken, can you help me repair it?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

理lǐmanage

修 and 理 both express putting things right, giving the sense of repairing, trimming, or managing.

Characters in this word

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

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

攸

攸yōu修xiū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

里lǐ理lǐ

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Miscellaneous Objects 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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