发奖 (fā jiǎng) — to award prizes, to give out awards

Definition

发奖 is the verb phrase meaning 'to give out awards' — used for an organization or person presenting prizes, not for winning them. Pairs with 给 to introduce the recipient.

verb
to award prizesto give out awards

Examples

  • 发奖。
    Xué xiào měi nián dōu huì fā jiǎng.
    The school gives out awards every year.
  • 。
    Zuó tiān gōng sī fā le yí cì jiǎng.
    The company gave out awards once yesterday.
  • 发奖。
    Xiào zhǎng zhèng zài gěi yōu xiù xué shēng fā jiǎng.
    The principal is awarding prizes to outstanding students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

发fāgive out
奖jiǎngprize

“发” (give out) and “奖” (prize) combine to mean handing out awards.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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 獎; 奖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
將
將jiāng獎jiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 獎 pairs 將 as a sound part with 犬, a dog; the simplified 奖 is a later shorthand. The evidence says the dog part's meaning is unclear, perhaps referring to guiding a dog by voice.

Open 奖 →

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