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建议 (jiàn yì) — (verb) to suggest, to recommend, to propose; (noun) suggestion, proposal, recommendation

Definition

建议 (jiànyì) is the everyday 'suggest / suggestion', more neutral and spoken than the formal 提出 or 提议 ('to propose'), and stronger than a mere 暗示 ('hint').

verb
to suggestto recommendto propose
noun
suggestionproposalrecommendation
Measure word · 个, 点

Examples

  • 建议。
    Wǒ jiàn yì nǐ duō xiū xi.
    I suggest you rest more.
  • 建议。
    Zhè shì yí gè hǎo jiàn yì.
    This is a good suggestion.
  • 建议。
    Wǒ jiē shòu nǐ de jiàn yì.
    I accept your suggestion.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

建jiànput forward
议yìopinion/proposal

建 conveys putting forward, while 议 means an opinion or proposal; together they mean to suggest something.

Characters in this word

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

  • 廴廴yǐn
  • 聿聿yù

The shape 建 shows 廴 and 聿, but it comes from an older drawing of a hand planting a pole into a base; the lower part of 聿 is not a brush.

Open 建 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 議; 议 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yántalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
義
義yì議⁰yì
Same sound today

The traditional form 議 pairs 言 (talk) with 義 as a sound component; the simplified 议 is a later shorthand.

Open 议 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 51000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsAttitudes & OpinionsCommunication & Speech2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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