征婚 (zhēng hūn) — to seek a spouse through advertisements

Definition

A formal/classified-ad verb meaning to seek a spouse by placing an ad (in newspapers, online, etc.).

verb
to seek a spouse through advertisements
Easily confused

Examples

  • 征婚。
    Wǒ péng you zài bào zhǐ shàng zhēng hūn le.
    My friend placed a marriage ad in the newspaper.
  • ，。
    Tā yǐ qián zhēng guò hūn, dàn méi yǒu chéng gōng.
    He once placed a marriage ad, but it didn't work out.
  • ，。
    Tā yí gòng zhēng le sān cì hūn, zhōng yú zhǎo dào le hé shì de duì xiàng.
    She posted ads for a spouse three times in total and finally found a suitable partner.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

征zhēngseek
婚hūnmarriage

征 (seek) and 婚 (marriage) combine to mean seek a marriage partner.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 徵; 征 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 征 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (特征, 象征) it is 徵; in others it is 征.

The story is about the traditional form 徵. It originally meant punishment, from a picture of a knife with tooth-shaped protrusions on its back; later forms kept that sense.

Open 征 →

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
昏
昏hūn婚hūn
Same sound today

婚 uses 女 (woman) for the meaning and 昏 for the sound hūn.

Open 婚 →

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