处境 (chǔ jìng) — situation (especially one that is difficult or…

Definition

处境 (chǔjìng) means 'situation' with a focus on the difficult or unfavorable conditions a person is in — more loaded than 境遇, which is neutral 'circumstances', and broader than 困境 ('predicament'), which is always adverse.

noun

situation (especially one that is difficult or unfavorable)

Examples

处境，。
Tā xiàn zài chǔ jìng fēi cháng jiān nán, xū yào dà jiā de bāng zhù.
He is in a very difficult situation now and needs everyone's help.
处境，。
Miàn duì zhè zhǒng chǔ jìng, wǒ men zhǐ néng lěng jìng yìng duì.
Facing this kind of situation, we can only respond calmly.
处境。
Tā de chǔ jìng ràng wǒ gǎn dào shí fēn tóng qíng.
His situation makes me feel very sympathetic.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

处chùbe in

境jìngcircumstances

处 means being placed in and 境 means circumstances; together they denote the circumstances one is in.

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 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

虍夂几處

Meaning part形符xíngfú

夂夂zhǐ

几几jǐtable

Sound part声符shēngfú

虍

虍hū處chǔ

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

土竟境

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

竟

竟jìng境jìng

Same sound today

境 pairs 土 (earth) with 竟, which gives the sound; the 土 part carries the meaning.

Open 境 →

Appears in