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拯救 (zhěng jiù) — to save, to rescue (from danger, harm, or a crisis)

Definition

拯救 emphasizes saving something from destruction or collapse — a person, a species, a company, a crisis. Stronger and more literary than 救; less urgent/medical than 抢救.

verb
to saveto rescue (from danger, harm, or a crisis)

Examples

  • 拯救。
    Yī shēng jìn zuì dà nǔ lì zhěng jiù bìng rén de shēng mìng.
    The doctor did his best to save the patient's life.
  • ，拯救。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī miàn lín pò chǎn, xū yào zī jīn lái zhěng jiù wēi jī.
    This company is facing bankruptcy and needs funds to save the crisis.
  • ，拯救。
    Qiǎng jiù gōng zuò chí xù le shí gè xiǎo shí, zhōng yú zhěng jiù le suǒ yǒu rén.
    The rescue work lasted ten hours and eventually saved everyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

拯zhěngsave
救jiùrescue

Both 拯 and 救 mean rescue, so 拯救 emphasizes saving from danger.

Characters in this word

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

拯 is built from 手, which marks a hand-related action, and 丞, which supplies the sound.

Open 拯 →

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú救jiù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

Open 救 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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