危机 (wēi jī) — crisis | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

危机 is a major 'crisis' — a turning point that can go badly, used in politics, finance, and business. 危险 is everyday 'danger', and 关难 is a single hurdle, not a full-blown crisis.

noun

crisis

Measure word · 个

Examples

危机。
Gōng sī zhèng zài nǔ lì jiě jué zhè chǎng wēi jī.
The company is working hard to resolve this crisis.
危机，。
Miàn duì wēi jī, tā biǎo xiàn dé hěn lěng jìng.
He remained very calm in the face of the crisis.
危机。
Zhè cì wēi jī gěi rén men dài lái le hěn duō jiào xùn.
This crisis brought many lessons to people.

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.

机jīoccasion

The 危 sense of danger and the 机 sense of occasion combine for a dangerous moment.

Characters in this word

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

厃厃wěiperson on a cliff or mountain
卩卩jiékneeling person

危 is built from 厃, showing a person on a cliff or mountain, and 卩, showing a kneeling person.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Appears in

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