取信 (qǔ xìn) — to collect/retrieve a letter (literal, separabl…

Definition

取信 is a separable verb with two distinct senses. Literally, 取 + 信任: 'to win trust/credibility' (the formal, idiomatic sense, as in 取信于民).

verb

to collect/retrieve a letter (literal, separable)to win trust/credibility (idiomatic, formal)

。
Tā qù yóu jú qǔ le yì fēng xìn.
He went to the post office to collect a letter.
取信。
Zhèng fǔ bì xū qǔ xìn yú mín.
The government must win the trust of the people.
取信。
Gōng sī tōng guò chéng xìn jīng yíng qǔ xìn yú kè hù.
The company wins customers' trust through honest business.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

信xìnletter/trust

取 means to fetch or win, and 信 means letter or trust, so it covers retrieving a letter or gaining credibility.

Characters in this word

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

耳又取

取 pairs 又 (hand) with 耳 (ear), showing a hand taking an ear, as in taking the ear of fallen prey.

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

言言yánwords

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

Appears in