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安全 (ān quán) — (adjective) safe, secure

Definition

The everyday adjective for a place, situation, or activity being 'safe' (no danger). 平安 is used more for people arriving or wishing 'safe and sound', while 保险 as an adjective means 'reliable, won't fail' rather than free from physical danger.

adjective
safesecure

Examples

  • 安全。
    Zhè ge dì fāng hěn ān quán.
    This place is very safe.
  • 安全。
    Zhè tiáo lù hěn ān quán.
    This road is safe.
  • 安全。
    Wǒ jué de zuò fēi jī hěn ān quán.
    I think flying is safe.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

安ānpeaceful; safe
全quáncomplete; whole

The peaceful part and the complete part combine to express being secure and without danger.

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

Open 全 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsSafety & Danger2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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