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持平 (chí píng) — to stay level, to be flat (of rates, prices, statistics, market shares); fair, balanced (of remarks, opinions, judgments)

Definition

持平 has two distinct senses: for numbers/prices it means 'to stay level/flat'; for opinions or judgments it means 'fair, balanced' — note it is a verb, not an adjective.

verb
to stay levelto be flat (of rates, prices, statistics, market shares)fairbalanced (of remarks, opinions, judgments)

Examples

  • 持平。
    Zuì jìn fáng jià chí píng le.
    Recently, housing prices have leveled off.
  • 持平，。
    Tā de guān diǎn hěn chí píng, dà jiā dōu tóng yì.
    His views were very fair, and everyone agreed.
  • 持平。
    Liǎng gè gōng sī de shōu rù chí píng le.
    The revenues of the two companies are level.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

持chímaintain
平pínglevel

持 means to maintain and 平 means level; the combination means keeping something level or balanced.

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
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì持chí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

持 combines 手 (hand), for the idea of holding, with 寺, which gives the sound.

Open 持 →

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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