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德赛 (dé sài) — democracy and science (as a paired concept from the May Fourth Movement)

Definition

Short for 德先生 (Mr. Democracy) and 赛先生 (Mr. Science), the paired slogan of the May Fourth Movement. It refers to 'democracy and science' as one concept, not the two ideas separately.

noun
democracy and science (as a paired concept from the May Fourth Movement)

Examples

  • 德赛。
    Wǔ sì yùn dòng tí chàng dé sài jīng shén.
    The May Fourth Movement advocated the spirit of Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science.
  • 德赛。
    Jīn tiān xǔ duō rén réng rán zhòng shì dé sài de jià zhí.
    Today many people still value the worth of democracy and science.
  • ，德赛。
    Wǒ men tǎo lùn xiàn dài zhōng guó shí, dé sài shì yí gè zhòng yào huà tí.
    When we discuss modern China, democracy and science are an important topic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

德dédemocracy
赛sàiscience

“德” stands for democracy and “赛” for science, so the pair names the two May Fourth ideals.

Characters in this word

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
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.

Open 德 →

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 賽; 赛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
塞
塞sāi賽sài
Same sound today

The traditional form 賽 uses 貝 (shell) for meaning and 塞 for sound. The simplified 赛 is a later shorthand.

Open 赛 →
Appears in
HistoryGovernment & PoliticsScience (General)

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