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大使馆 (dà shǐ guǎn) — embassy

Definition

noun
embassy
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 大使馆。
    Wǒ míng tiān yào qù zhōng guó dà shǐ guǎn bàn qiān zhèng.
    I need to go to the Chinese embassy tomorrow to apply for a visa.
  • 大使馆，。
    Tā zài dà shǐ guǎn gōng zuò, shì yì míng wài jiāo guān.
    He works at the embassy and is a diplomat.
  • 大使馆。
    Qǐng bǎ nǐ de hù zhào sòng dào dà shǐ guǎn.
    Please send your passport to the embassy.

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.

大使ambassador
大dàgreat使shǐenvoy
偏正Modifier + head
馆guǎnbuilding

大使 is a great envoy, and 馆 is the building, so it names the envoy's building.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
吏
吏lì使shǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

使 pairs 亻 (person) with 吏, which pictures a hand holding something like a flag, giving the sense of a representative or ambassador.

Open 使 →

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 館; 馆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān館guǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 館 is made of 食, written as 飠 on the left, and 官 on the right; 官 provides the sound. The simplified 馆 is a later shorthand.

Open 馆 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 4International & Diplomacy

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