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所有 (suǒ yǒu) — all; (formal) to possess, to own

Definition

As an adjective, 所有 means 'all' (every one of a group). As a formal verb it means 'to possess' — similar to 拥有 but more formal and written.

all(formal) to possessto own
Easily confused

Examples

  • 所有。
    suǒ yǒu De rén dōu hěn gāo xìng.
    All the people are very happy.
  • 所有。
    Wǒ suǒ yǒu de shū dōu zài zhuō zi shàng.
    All my books are on the table.
  • 所有。
    Tā shī qù le suǒ yǒu.
    He lost everything.

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.

所suǒwhat is possessed
有yǒuhave

所 points to what is possessed, and 有 expresses having, giving all possessed things and to possess.

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
斤斤jīnaxe
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

Open 所 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsQuantity & Amount2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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