德 (dé) — virtue; morality; moral character
Definition
Virtue; moral character — usually appears as the second element in compounds like 道德, 品德, 美德, not used alone. Pairs with 品质 (character) and 品质/品德 in fixed expressions about ethics.
bound form
virtuemoralitymoral character
Examples
- 。Tā de dào dé pǐn zhì hěn gāo.His moral character is very high.
- 。Chéng shí shì yì zhǒng měi dé.Honesty is a kind of virtue.
- 。Wǒ men yào péi yǎng liáng hǎo de pǐn dé.We need to cultivate good moral character.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
彳彳chìroad
Sound part声符shēngfú
惪
惪dé德dé
Same sound today
德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.
Appears in
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