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合法化 (hé fǎ huà) — to legalize, to make legitimate

Definition

A verb meaning 'to legalize / to make legitimate' — usually what a government or law does to an activity, status, or property. The -化 suffix marks a change of state, similar to 现代化 ('to modernize').

verb
to legalizeto make legitimate

Examples

  • 合法化。
    Zhè ge guó jiā zuì jìn hé fǎ huà le tóng xìng hūn yīn.
    This country recently legalized same-sex marriage.
  • 合法化。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài kǎo lǜ hé fǎ huà mǒu xiē yú lè xìng yào wù.
    The government is considering legalizing certain recreational drugs.
  • 合法化。
    Zhè ge xié yì hé fǎ huà le tā men de xiǎo chǎn quán fáng.
    This agreement legitimized their limited-property housing.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

合法legal
合héconform法fǎlaw
动宾Verb + object
化huàmake

合 means conforming and 法 law, while 化 turns that into a process of making.

Characters in this word

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

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

Open 合 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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