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扩大 (kuò dà) — to expand, to enlarge

Definition

扩大 means to expand or enlarge in scale or scope (e.g., business, area, influence). Use 放大 for physical/optical magnification, and 扩展 or 拓展 for extending reach or range.

verb
to expandto enlarge
Easily confused

Examples

  • 扩大。
    Wǒ men gōng sī míng nián jì huà kuò dà yè wù.
    Our company plans to expand its business next year.
  • 扩大。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng kuò dà gōng gòng lǜ dì miàn jī.
    The government decided to expand the area of public green space.
  • 扩大。
    Tā tōng guò yuè dú kuò dà le shì yě.
    He expanded his horizons through reading.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

扩kuòexpand
大dàbig

扩 means to widen, and 大 adds the sense of becoming larger, together meaning to expand or enlarge.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 擴; 扩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
廣
廣guǎng擴kuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 擴 combines 扌 (hand) and 廣 (guǎng) to show stretching or enlarging with hands. The simplified 扩 is not the form described here.

Open 扩 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 4Change & Process

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