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拼凑 (pīn còu) — to piece together hastily, to knock together; to scrape together (funds, resources) from various sources

Definition

拼凑 (pīncòu) means to piece or scrape things together from scattered, often mismatched parts — usually with a sense of haste or imperfection (a machine, funds, a story). It carries a faintly negative tone, unlike neutral 'to assemble' (装配).

verb
to piece together hastilyto knock togetherto scrape together (funds, resources) from various sources

Examples

  • 拼凑。
    Tā pīn còu le yì tái jiù diàn nǎo.
    He cobbled together an old computer.
  • 拼凑。
    Tā men pīn còu le qǐ dòng xiàng mù dì zī jīn.
    They scraped together the funds to start the project.
  • 拼凑。
    Zhè tái jī qì shì yòng gè zhǒng líng jiàn pīn còu chéng de.
    This machine is cobbled together from various parts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

拼pīnpiece together
凑còuassemble

拼 means to piece together, and 凑 means to assemble, so together they mean to put things together hastily.

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
并
并bìng拼
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 拼, the left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 并 gives the sound.

Open 拼 →

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 湊; 凑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
奏
奏zòu湊còu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 湊 uses 氵 (water) as the meaning element and 奏 as the sound element. The simplified 凑 is a later shorthand.

Open 凑 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsChange & Process

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