四有 (sì yǒu) — (political term) the 'Four Haves' — revolutionary ideals, sound morals, good education, and strong discipline

Definition

A Chinese political slogan: the 'Four Haves' a citizen should have — revolutionary ideals, sound morals, good education, and strong discipline. Used to set standards for personal conduct, especially in education and civic contexts.

noun
(political term) the 'Four Haves' — revolutionary ideals, sound morals, good education, and strong discipline

Examples

  • 四有，。
    Xué xiào yào péi yǎng sì yǒu xīn rén, ràng xué shēng quán miàn fā zhǎn.
    Schools should cultivate the 'Four Haves' new generation, allowing students to develop comprehensively.
  • 四有，。
    sì yǒu Bù jǐn shì kǒu hào, gèng shì duì měi gè gōng mín de yāo qiú.
    The 'Four Haves' is not just a slogan but also a requirement for every citizen.
  • 四有。
    Tā jīng cháng yòng sì yǒu de biāo zhǔn lái yāo qiú zì jǐ.
    He often uses the standard of the 'Four Haves' to demand of himself.

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.

四sìfour
有yǒuhave

The sense of 四 as four and 有 as have abbreviates the four qualities one should have.

Characters in this word

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

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

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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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

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