成倍 (chéng bèi) — by multiple times, exponentially (before verbs of increase); multiply (as in 成倍增长 'to increase by multiples')

Definition

Adverbial phrase meaning 'to multiply (several times / exponentially)' — used directly before increase verbs like 增长, 提高, 降低 to signal the change happens by many times over.

adverb
by multiple timesexponentially (before verbs of increase)multiply (as in 成倍增长 'to increase by multiples')

Examples

  • 成倍。
    Gōng sī de lì rùn qù nián chéng bèi zēng zhǎng.
    The company's profit grew by multiples last year.
  • 成倍。
    Xīn jì shù de yìng yòng shǐ shēng chǎn xiào lǜ chéng bèi tí gāo.
    The application of new technology increased production efficiency exponentially.
  • ，成倍。
    Cǎi yòng zhè ge fāng àn hòu, chéng běn chéng bèi jiàng dī.
    After adopting this plan, costs were reduced by multiple times.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

成chéngbecome
倍bèimultiple

“成” (become) and “倍” (multiples) suggest becoming many times larger.

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
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →

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
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu倍bèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

倍 has 人 on the left and 咅 on the right; 人 points to a person, while 咅 gives the sound.

Open 倍 →

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