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援助 (yuán zhù) — to aid, to support, to help (in a formal or official context)

Definition

援助 is a formal, official word for aid, used for governments, organizations, or large-scale disaster relief. Stronger and more institutional than 帮助; pairs with financial, medical, or international contexts.

verb
to aidto supportto help (in a formal or official context)

Examples

  • 援助。
    Lián hé guó jué dìng yuán zhù nà ge luò hòu guó jiā.
    The United Nations decided to aid that underdeveloped country.
  • 援助。
    Yī shēng men bèi pài qù yuán zhù zāi qū rén mín.
    Doctors were sent to aid the people in the disaster area.
  • 援助。
    Gōng sī jué dìng yuán zhù jiào yù shì yè.
    The company decided to support education.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

援yuánhelp
助zhùhelp

援 (help) and 助 (help) combine to mean give support or aid.

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
爰
爰yuán援yuán
Same sound today

In 援, the left 扌 (written fully as 手) is a hand, and the right 爰 tells you how it sounds.

Open 援 →

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
力力lìstrong arm
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě助zhù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

助 pairs 力, a strong arm, with 且, which gives the sound; the meaning is help with strength.

Open 助 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.