偏重 (piān zhòng) — to emphasize (one aspect over others), to lay particular stress on

Definition

A verb meaning to lean toward or emphasize one aspect over others. Takes an object directly (偏重理科), unlike 重视 which stresses how much something is valued.

verb
to emphasize (one aspect over others)to lay particular stress on

Examples

  • 偏重，。
    Zhè ge xué xiào piān zhòng lǐ kē, wén kē kè chéng bǐ jiào shǎo.
    This school emphasizes science subjects; humanities courses are relatively few.
  • 偏重，。
    Tā de yán jiū piān zhòng lǐ lùn fēn xī, quē shǎo shí jì shù jù.
    His research focuses heavily on theoretical analysis and lacks real data.
  • 偏重，。
    Gōng sī bù néng zhī piān zhòng duǎn qī lì rùn, yě yào kǎo lǜ cháng qī fā zhǎn.
    The company cannot only focus on short-term profits; it must also consider long-term development.

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.

偏piānto one side
重zhòngstress

偏 gives 'to one side' and 重 gives 'stress', so lay particular stress on.

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.

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 →

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