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封口 (fēng kǒu) — to seal (an envelope, container, opening); (of a wound) to heal, to close up; to silence someone, to end a discussion with a decisive remark

Definition

A verb-object phrase (离合词) that splits as 封…口. The 'seal' sense applies to envelopes and openings; the figurative sense means to silence people or close a discussion with a final word.

verb
to seal (an envelope, container, opening)(of a wound) to healto close upto silence someone, to end a discussion with a decisive remark

Examples

  • 封口。
    Qǐng bǎ xìn fēng fēng kǒu.
    Please seal the envelope.
  • 封口。
    Tā de shāng kǒu yǐ jīng fēng kǒu le.
    His wound has already healed.
  • 。
    Tā yí jù huà jiù fēng le suǒ yǒu rén de kǒu.
    He shut everyone up with one sentence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

封fēngseal
口kǒuopening

封 gives sealing, and 口 gives an opening or mouth, so the action closes or silences.

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
土土tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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