(hūn) — marriage; wedding; to marry (bound morpheme)

Definition

婚 is a bound morpheme meaning 'wedding/marriage' — it doesn't stand alone but always pairs with another character, most commonly 结婚 (to marry), 婚礼 (wedding ceremony), and 婚姻 (marriage as a state).

bound form
marriageweddingto marry (bound morpheme)

Examples

  • Tā men míng nián zhǔn bèi jié hūn.
    They plan to get married next year.
  • Cān jiā péng you de hūn lǐ shì yí jiàn hěn kāi xīn de shì.
    Attending a friend's wedding is a very happy thing.
  • Tā men de hūn yīn hěn xìng fú.
    Their marriage is very happy.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
hūnhūn
Same sound today

婚 uses 女 (woman) for the meaning and 昏 for the sound hūn.

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