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挂失 (guà shī) — to report the loss of (a bank card, ID, passport, etc.)

Definition

挂失 is not just 'losing' something — it's the formal step of reporting a lost document or card to the issuing authority so it can be voided. 丢失 is the act of losing; 挂失 is what you do at the bank or police station afterwards.

verb
to report the loss of (a bank card, ID, passport, etc.)

Examples

  • ，挂失。
    Wǒ de yín háng kǎ diū le, dé qù yín háng guà shī.
    My bank card is lost, I have to go to the bank to report the loss.
  • 挂失。
    Qǐng jǐn kuài dào gōng ān jú guà shī shēn fèn zhèng.
    Please go to the public security bureau as soon as possible to report the loss of your ID card.
  • 挂失。
    Tā zài yín háng bàn le guà shī shǒu xù.
    He went through the loss-report procedure at the bank.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

挂guàregister
失shīloss

挂 (register) and 失 (loss) combine to mean putting a loss on record.

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 掛; 挂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺘Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卦
卦guà掛guà
Same sound today

In the traditional form 掛, the hand part ⺘ and the sound part 卦 show hooking or hanging something with the hand; this form was originally a popular form of 挂.

Open 挂 →

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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