得势 (dé shì) — to gain power or an advantageous position; to get the upper hand

Definition

To rise to a position of power or influence, often suddenly. Commonly paired with its opposite 失势 ('to fall from power'), as seen in news and political writing.

verb
to gain power or an advantageous positionto get the upper hand

Examples

  • ，得势。
    Tā zài gōng sī lǐ yì zhí hěn nǔ lì, zuì jìn zhōng yú dé shì le.
    He has been working hard in the company and finally gained an advantageous position recently.
  • ，，。
    Nà cì xuǎn jǔ zhōng, fǎn duì dǎng dé le shì, dàn hěn kuài yòu shī shì le.
    In that election, the opposition party gained power, but soon lost it again.
  • 得势？。
    Zhè ge jué cè huì ràng tā dé shì ma? xiàn zài hái bù hǎo shuō.
    Will this decision put him in a powerful position? It's hard to say now.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

得dégain
势shìpower

"得" means gain and "势" means power or momentum, so it means to get the upper hand.

Characters in this word

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.