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局面 (jú miàn) — situation, state of affairs; phase, stage (in a process)

Definition

局面 is a formal, often macro-level 'situation' — the overall state of affairs, not everyday circumstances. Closer to 局势 than to 情况 (general/everyday) or 阶段 (a time period).

noun
situationstate of affairsphasestage (in a process)

Examples

  • 局面。
    Gōng sī de fā zhǎn jìn rù le yí gè quán xīn de jú miàn.
    The company's development has entered a completely new phase.
  • 局面。
    Zhèng fǔ de cuò shī hěn kuài wěn dìng le jú miàn.
    The government's measures quickly stabilized the situation.
  • 局面，。
    Zài zhè ge jǐn zhāng de jú miàn xià, měi gè rén dōu hěn xiǎo xīn.
    In this tense situation, everyone is very careful.

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.

局júarrangement
面miànsurface

The 局 idea of an arrangement or board sets the 面, the visible surface or aspect, of affairs.

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù局jú
Same sound today

The shape of 局 pairs 尸, a meaning part, with 句, a sound part.

Open 局 →

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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