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准儿 (zhǔn ér) — (colloquial) certainty, assurance (especially in 有准儿 'to be sure' and 没准儿 'not sure')

Definition

准儿 (zhǔnr) is the colloquial noun-suffix meaning 'certainty' or 'a sure thing,' used almost only in the set phrases 有准儿 ('to be sure/reliable') and 没准儿 ('maybe, not sure').

noun
(colloquial) certaintyassurance (especially in 有准儿 'to be sure' and 没准儿 'not sure')

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè jiàn shì wǒ xīn lǐ méi zhǔn ér.
    I'm not sure about this matter.
  • 准儿？
    Nǐ shuō de huà yǒu zhǔn ér ma?
    Are you sure about what you said?
  • 准儿，。
    Tā zuò shì hěn yǒu zhǔn ér, nǐ fàng xīn.
    He's very reliable when he does things — rest assured.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

准zhǔncertainty
儿ér儿化

准 means certainty or standard, and 儿 gives the colloquial form.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 準; 准 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
隼
隼sǔn準zhǔn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 準, not 准, pairs 水 (water) with 隼 as a sound part; the evidence describes it as 'water level'.

Open 准 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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