半程 (bàn chéng) — halfway; half the distance; half of a journey

Definition

noun
halfwayhalf the distancehalf of a journey
Easily confused

Examples

  • 半程。
    Wǒ men zhī zǒu le bàn chéng.
    We only walked half the distance.
  • 半程。
    Bǐ sài yǐ jīng jìn xíng le bàn chéng.
    The competition has already gone halfway.
  • 半程。
    bàn chéng De shí hou tā lǐng xiān.
    At the halfway point, he was leading.

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.

半bànhalf
程chéngjourney

半 and 程 combine to mean half of a journey.

Characters in this word

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

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

Open 半 →

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
禾禾hégrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
呈
呈chéng程chéng
Same sound today

程 is made from 禾 (grain) and 呈 (pronounced chéng); the evidence gives measurements.

Open 程 →

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