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委员会 (wěi yuán huì) — committee

Definition

A committee is the organized group itself; 委员 refers to a single committee member. 组建 means to form or set up such a body.

noun
committee
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 委员会。
    Zhè ge wěi yuán huì fù zé zhěng gè xiàng mù de guǎn lǐ.
    This committee is responsible for the management of the entire project.
  • 委员会。
    Tā dāng xuǎn wèi wěi yuán huì de zhǔ xí.
    He was elected chair of the committee.
  • 委员会。
    Suǒ yǒu chéng yuán dōu xū yào cān jiā wěi yuán huì de huì yì.
    All members need to attend the committee's meetings.

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.

委员member
委wěientrust员yuánmember
偏正Modifier + head
会huìassociation

委员 are entrusted members, and 会 is the organization they form.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé委wěi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

委 has 女 under 禾. 女, a woman, is the meaning part, and 禾 gives the sound.

Open 委 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →
Appears in
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