宪章 (xiàn zhāng) — charter (a foundational document of an organization or nation, e.g. the UN Charter); (formal) statutes and regulations

Definition

A formal written noun for an official charter or constitution-like founding document (e.g. the UN Charter). In modern usage it almost always refers to the document itself, not to the older sense of 'laws and decrees.'

noun
charter (a foundational document of an organization or nation, e.g. the UN Charter)(formal) statutes and regulations

Examples

  • 宪章
    《Lián hé guó xiàn zhāng》 shì guó jì guān xì de zhòng yào wén jiàn.
    The United Nations Charter is an important document in international relations.
  • 宪章
    Zhè ge zǔ zhī de xiàn zhāng míng què guī dìng le chéng yuán de quán lì hé yì wù.
    This organization's charter clearly stipulates the rights and obligations of its members.
  • 宪章
    Gè guó dài biǎo zhèng zài xiū dìng gāi tiáo yuē de xiàn zhāng.
    Delegates from various countries are revising the charter of that treaty.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

zhāngregulations

宪 means laws and 章 means regulations, together naming a charter or body of rules.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 憲; 宪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡩜
𡩜𡩜xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 憲 pairs 心 (heart) with 𡩜, a sound component whose form depicts a punishment involving tattooing the eyes; the simplified 宪 is a later shorthand.

Open 宪 →

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

章 shows a chisel piercing a piece of jade in the middle. It originally meant treating jade.

Open 章 →

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