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尊重 (zūn zhòng) — to respect (someone's rights, opinions, feelings, or dignity); (adjective) respectable, dignified, proper

Definition

尊重 is the everyday word for 'respect' — a person's rights, choices, or culture. As an adjective, it means 'dignified, respectable' (a 尊重的学者). Stronger and more reverent than the formal 尊敬.

verb
to respect (someone's rights, opinions, feelings, or dignity)
adjective
respectabledignifiedproper

Examples

  • 尊重。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi zūn zhòng měi gè rén de xuǎn zé.
    We should respect everyone's choices.
  • 尊重。
    Tā shì yí wèi hěn zūn zhòng de xué zhě.
    He is a very respectable scholar.
  • 尊重。
    Qù guó wài lǚ yóu yào zūn zhòng dāng dì de wén huà.
    When traveling abroad, you must respect the local culture.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

尊zūnrespect
重zhòngvalue

尊 means respect and 重 means value, so the word expresses holding someone in high regard.

Characters in this word

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

The shape combines 寸 (hand) and 酋 (wine), showing a hand offering a wine vessel to express respect; some forms show two hands instead.

Open 尊 →

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Attitudes & Opinions2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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