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太平 (Tài píng) — peaceful, tranquil

Definition

太平 (tài píng) describes large-scale peace — societies, countries, eras — not personal quietude. For personal calm use 安静; 平静 and 宁静 are closer but stress inner serenity rather than political order.

adjective
peacefultranquil

Examples

  • 太平。
    Xī wàng shì jiè yǒng yuǎn Tài píng.
    I hope the world will always be peaceful.
  • 太平。
    Zhè ge guó jiā yǐ jīng Tài píng le jǐ shí nián.
    This country has been peaceful for decades.
  • 太平。
    Lǎo bǎi xìng zuì pàn wàng de jiù shì Tài píng de rì zi.
    What common people most hope for is a peaceful life.

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.

太tàigreat
平píngpeaceful

太 means great and 平 means peaceful, so the whole suggests great peace.

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.

太 is a modified form of 大, with an extra dot added to show 'too big'.

Open 太 →

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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