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养成 (yǎng chéng) — to cultivate (a habit); to develop (a quality, ability)

Definition

养成 is about slowly building a personal habit or quality through repetition. 培养 focuses outward on nurturing people, talents, or abilities; 培训 is professional or skills training.

verb
to cultivate (a habit)to develop (a quality, ability)

Examples

  • ，养成。
    Tā měi tiān pǎo bù, yǎng chéng le hǎo xí guàn.
    He runs every day and has developed a good habit.
  • ，养成。
    Tōng guò dú shū, tā yǎng chéng le dú lì sī kǎo de néng lì.
    Through reading, she cultivated the ability to think independently.
  • 养成。
    Zhè ge hái zi cóng xiǎo yǎng chéng le lǐ mào de xí guàn.
    This child has cultivated polite habits from a young age.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

养yǎngnurture
成chéngbecome

养成 pairs 养 (nurture) with 成 (become), giving the idea of developing something into a habit or quality.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

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
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Change & Process

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