居多 (jū duō) — to be in the majority, to predominate

Definition

居多 is a formal written verb meaning '(something) is in the majority' or 'predominates' — used after a stated group to say most of them fall into one category. More literary than saying 多数 or 大部分.

verb
to be in the majorityto predominate

Examples

  • 居多。
    Zhè ge gōng sī lǐ nián qīng rén jū duō.
    Young people are in the majority at this company.
  • ，居多。
    Cān jiā huó dòng de rén zhōng, nǚ xìng jū duō.
    Among the participants, women were in the majority.
  • ，居多。
    Zhè xiē zuò pǐn zhōng, xiàn shí zhǔ yì fēng gé jū duō.
    Among these works, the realist style predominates.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

居jūoccupy
多duōmajority

居 means occupy, and 多 means the larger amount; together to be in the majority.

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
古
古gǔ居jū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

Open 居 →

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

多 originally showed two pieces of meat placed together; the repeated meat shape gives the sense of many.

Open 多 →

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