坐定 (zuò dìng) — to be seated; to sit down firmly; (dialectal) to be destined; to be doomed

Definition

A literary/resultative verb meaning 'to sit down firmly' or 'to be settled in one's seat'. In dialectal use, it can also mean 'destined/doomed' (often as a predicate adjective: 坐定的).

verb
to be seatedto sit down firmly(dialectal) to be destinedto be doomed

Examples

  • 坐定，。
    Tā zuò dìng zhī hòu, xiān hē le kǒu chá cái kāi kǒu shuō huà.
    After he sat down, he took a sip of tea before speaking.
  • 坐定，。
    Nǐ zhè cì kǎo shì bù jí gé shì zuò dìng de, shuí ràng nǐ bú fù xí ne.
    You were destined to fail this exam — who told you not to review?
  • ，。
    Yí jìn mén tā jiù zuò dìng zài shā fā shàng, hǎo xiàng hěn lèi.
    As soon as she entered she sat down on the sofa, looking very tired.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

坐zuòsit
定dìngsettled

坐 means to sit, and 定 expresses settling firmly; together they mean to be seated.

Characters in this word

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

The form 坐 combines 留, 'to stay', and 土, 'ground'.

Open 坐 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng定dìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

定 is built from 宀 and 正, with 正 supplying the sound.

Open 定 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.