对准 (duì zhǔn) — (verb) to aim at (a target, camera, weapon, etc.); (verb) to align with, to be in line with (standards, goals, requirements)

Definition

对准 combines 对 ('toward') and 准 ('accurate'): 'to aim/align something precisely with a target' — physical (camera, weapon) or abstract (standards, goals). A transitive verb that takes the target as its object, not a direction.

verb
to aim at (a target, camera, weapon, etc.)to align withto be in line with (standards, goals, requirements)

Examples

  • 对准。
    Tā yòng qiāng duì zhǔn le mù biāo.
    He aimed at the target with a gun.
  • 对准。
    Wǒ men yào duì zhǔn guó jiā biāo zhǔn lái zuò.
    We need to align with national standards to do it.
  • 对准。
    Shè yǐng shī bǎ jìng tóu duì zhǔn le yǎn yuán.
    The photographer aimed the lens at the actor.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

对duìaim
准zhǔnaccurate

对 aims or faces, 准 gives accuracy or target, so it means aim at or align.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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 準; 准 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
隼
隼sǔn準zhǔn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 準, not 准, pairs 水 (water) with 隼 as a sound part; the evidence describes it as 'water level'.

Open 准 →

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