固守 (gù shǒu) — to hold fast to, to stubbornly defend (a position, idea, or territory)

Definition

固守 (gù shǒu) means stubbornly clinging to a position, idea, or territory — usually with a negative tone of being inflexible. Comparable to 坚持 but with a stronger sense of rigidity and refusal to change.

verb
to hold fast toto stubbornly defend (a position, idea, or territory)

Examples

  • 固守。
    Zhè zhī bù duì wán qiáng dì gù shǒu zhe zhèn dì.
    This unit stubbornly held the position.
  • 固守，。
    Hěn duō lǎo rén gù shǒu chuán tǒng guān niàn, bú yuàn yì gǎi biàn.
    Many elderly people stubbornly cling to traditional ideas and are unwilling to change.
  • 固守，。
    Tā gù zhí dì gù shǒu zì jǐ de guān diǎn, bù tīng bié rén yì jiàn.
    He stubbornly held on to his own viewpoint and wouldn't listen to others.

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.

固gùfirm
守shǒuguard

固 means firmly and 守 means guard; together they mean guard something firmly or cling stubbornly.

Characters in this word

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
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ固gù
Same sound today

固 combines 囗, which relates to the meaning, with 古, which gives the sound.

Open 固 →

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

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

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