差役 (chā yì) — (historical) forced labor or service demanded by the state, corvée; (historical) a low-level government messenger or servant

Definition

Historical term with two related senses: the unpaid labor peasants owed the state (corvée), and the low-ranking servants or messengers who ran errands in a yamen.

noun
(historical) forced labor or service demanded by the state, corvée(historical) a low-level government messenger or servant
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 差役。
    Gǔ dài nóng mín měi nián dōu yào fú chā yì.
    Ancient peasants had to perform corvée every year.
  • 衙。
    Tā nián qīng shí céng zài xiàn yá dāng chā yì.
    When he was young, he worked as a runner in the county yamen.
  • 差役。
    Nà xiē chā yì měi tiān fù zé zài yá men lǐ pǎo tuǐ.
    Those runners were responsible for running errands in the yamen every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

差chàduty
役yìservice

差 and 役 both refer to service or labor, together denoting official service or a runner.

Characters in this word

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

  • 來來láiwheat
  • 𠂇𠂇𠂇left hand

差 pairs 來 (wheat) with 𠂇 (left hand), showing wheat rubbed in a hand to remove its hull.

Open 差 →

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

  • 彳彳chìmovement; action
  • 殳殳shūa weapon, like a spear

役 pairs 彳 (movement) with 殳 (a weapon like a spear) to show someone moving with a weapon to guard a border, giving the idea of a duty or task.

Open 役 →

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