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夺权 (duó quán) — to seize power, to take power (by force or strategy)

Definition

A formal, often political verb meaning 'to seize power,' usually by force or a coup rather than a legal transfer.

verb
to seize powerto take power (by force or strategy)

Examples

  • 夺权。
    Tā men xiǎng tōng guò zhèng biàn duó quán.
    They want to seize power through a coup.
  • ，。
    Tā duó le guó wáng de quán, zì jǐ zuò le huáng dì.
    He seized the king's power and made himself emperor.
  • 夺权。
    Zhè cì duó quán xíng dòng shī bài le.
    This power-seizing operation failed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

夺duóseize
权quánpower

夺, seize, and 权, power, combine to mean taking power.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 奪; 夺 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 奪 includes 又 (a hand), 雀 (a bird), and 衣 (clothing), showing a hand seizing a bird from someone; the simplified 夺 is a later abbreviation.

Open 夺 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

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