声威 (shēng wēi) — prestige, fame and influence

Definition

声望 (shēngwàng) = reputation, what people think of you. 声威 is the prestige that comes from being powerful or dominant, and the influence it projects outward.

noun
prestigefame and influence

Examples

  • 声威。
    Zhè zhī jūn duì de shēng wēi yuǎn bō.
    This army's prestige spreads far and wide.
  • 声威。
    Gōng sī de shēng wēi zài yè nèi hěn gāo.
    The company's prestige is very high in the industry.
  • 声威。
    Tā píng jiè zì jǐ de nǔ lì yíng dé le shēng wēi.
    He won prestige through his own efforts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

声shēngreputation
威wēipower/prestige

"声" and "威" combine reputation with power, meaning prestige.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
殸
殸qìng聲shēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Open 声 →

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

威 is made by combining 戌 and 女.

Open 威 →

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