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偏离 (piān lí) — to deviate from, to diverge from

Definition

A verb meaning to deviate or drift away from a path, plan, or norm. Unlike the adjective 偏 (inclined/biased), 偏离 focuses on the action of diverging from something set.

verb
to deviate fromto diverge from

Examples

  • 偏离。
    Tā de jì huà piān lí le yuán lái de fāng xiàng.
    His plan deviated from the original direction.
  • 偏离。
    Zhè cì shí yàn de jié guǒ piān lí le yù qī.
    The results of this experiment deviated from expectations.
  • 偏离。
    Shuō huà shí bú yào piān lí zhǔ tí.
    When speaking, don't deviate from the topic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

偏piāndeviate
离líleave

偏 (deviate) and 离 (leave) together describe moving away from the correct path.

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
扁
扁biǎn偏piān
Same sound today

偏 combines 亻 (人, a person) with 扁, which gives the sound.

Open 偏 →

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 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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