密约 (mì yuē) — secret agreement; secret treaty

Definition

A formal noun for a secret, often high-stakes pact between parties such as governments or companies. The 前缀 密 marks the hidden nature; 约 alone covers any agreement or appointment.

noun
secret agreementsecret treaty

Examples

  • 密约，。
    Liǎng guó qiān dìng le yí xiàng mì yuē, nèi róng zhì jīn méi yǒu gōng kāi.
    The two countries signed a secret treaty, and its content has not been made public to this day.
  • 密约。
    Zhè fèn mì yuē bèi méi tǐ xiè lòu hòu yǐn qǐ le hěn dà de zhēng yì.
    After this secret agreement was leaked by the media, it caused great controversy.
  • 密约，。
    Tā men sī xià dìng lì mì yuē, qǐ tú guā fēn shì chǎng fèn é.
    They privately concluded a secret agreement, attempting to carve up the market share.

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.

密mìsecret
约yuēagreement

密 means secret and 约 means agreement, giving a secret treaty.

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →

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 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →

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