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倒闭 (dǎo bì) — to go bankrupt, to close down (of a business or company)

Definition

倒闭 means a business closes permanently because it failed, not temporarily. 比 破产 more colloquial; unlike 停业, it implies the business will not reopen.

verb
to go bankruptto close down (of a business or company)

Examples

  • 倒闭。
    Nà jiā shāng diàn yīn wèi shēng yì bù hǎo ér dǎo bì le.
    That store closed down because business was bad.
  • ，倒闭。
    Rú guǒ gōng sī bù néng huán zhài, jiù huì dǎo bì.
    If the company cannot repay its debts, it will go bankrupt.
  • 倒闭，。
    Zhè jiā gōng chǎng yǐ jīng dǎo bì le, gōng rén quán dōu shī yè le.
    This factory has already closed down, and all the workers are unemployed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

倒dǎocollapse
闭bìclose

倒 suggests collapse and 闭 suggests shutting; together they describe a business collapsing and closing.

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
到
到dào倒dào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閉; 闭 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 材材cáimaterial; timber

The traditional form 閉 pairs 門 (door) with 材 (material; timber); the simplified 闭 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 闭 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Business & Commerce

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