招生办 (zhāo shēng bàn) — admissions office (of a school or university)

Definition

noun
admissions office (of a school or university)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 招生办。
    Wǒ míng tiān yào qù zhāo shēng bàn zī xún yí xià.
    I'm going to the admissions office tomorrow to inquire.
  • 招生办。
    zhāo shēng bàn De diàn huà yì zhí dǎ bù tōng.
    The admissions office's phone line has been busy.
  • 招生办。
    Qǐng bǎ shēn qǐng cái liào jiāo dào zhāo shēng bàn.
    Please submit your application materials to the admissions office.

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.

招生recruit students
招zhāorecruit生shēngstudent
动宾Verb + object
办bànoffice

招 and 生 give 'recruit students', and 办 names the office that does it.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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 辦; 办 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
辡
辡biàn辦bàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 辦 combines 力 (strength) with 辡, which gives the sound; the simplified 办 is a later shorthand.

Open 办 →

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