封存 (fēng cún) — to seal up for safekeeping; to seal and store | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal verb meaning to officially seal and store something away (documents, archives, evidence) for safekeeping or preservation. Less common than everyday 'keep' (保存) and used in official, legal, or archival contexts.

verb

to seal up for safekeepingto seal and store

Examples

封存。
Zhè xiē zhòng yào wén jiàn xū yào fēng cún qǐ lái.
These important documents need to be sealed up for safekeeping.
封存。
Tā men jiāng jiù dàng àn fēng cún zài cāng kù lǐ.
They sealed up the old archives in the warehouse.
，封存。
Wèi le bǎo hù zhèng jù, jǐng chá jué dìng fēng cún xiàn chǎng.
To protect the evidence, the police decided to seal up the scene.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

Seal and store combine to mean put something away in sealed condition.

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.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

才

才cái存cún

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

存 pairs 子 with 才, which was used for the sound.

Appears in

Change & Process Order & Arrangement

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