合作社 (hé zuò shè) — cooperative (organization), co-op

Definition

noun

cooperative (organization)co-op

Measure word · 个

合作社。
Zhè jiā hé zuò shè bāng zhù le hěn duō nóng mín.
This cooperative helped many farmers.
合作社。
Tā men chéng lì le yí gè nóng yè hé zuò shè.
They established an agricultural cooperative.
合作社。
Wǒ men cūn de hé zuò shè jīng yíng dé hěn hǎo.
Our village's cooperative is run very well.

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.

合作cooperate

联合Side by side

社shèorganization

“合作” gives the idea of working together, and “社” names the organization that does so.

Characters in this word

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

亼口合

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

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

亻乍作

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

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

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

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

社 joins 示 (god; deity) and 土 (soil), so its shape is about the god of the land.