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成员 (chéng yuán) — member

Definition

成员 is a formal written term for a 'member' of a group or organization. Unlike 会员 (used for clubs and associations) or 队员 (used for sports teams), 成员 is general and applies to any organized group, including political, corporate, or family units.

noun
member
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 成员。
    Wǒ men tuán duì yǒu wǔ gè chéng yuán.
    Our team has five members.
  • 成员。
    Zhè ge jù lè bù de chéng yuán dōu hěn yǒu hǎo.
    The members of this club are all very friendly.
  • 成员。
    Tā shì wǒ men jiā tíng de xīn chéng yuán.
    He is a new member of our family.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

成chéngconstitute
员yuánmember

成 suggests being part of a whole, and 员 denotes a person; together they mean someone belonging to a group.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →
Appears in
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