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援救 (yuán jiù) — to rescue, to save

Definition

Formal verb for 'to rescue / save', used for emergency or disaster relief (people trapped, villages hit by disaster). More formal and organized than everyday 救.

verb
to rescueto save

Examples

  • 援救。
    Jiù yuán rén yuán zhèng zài yuán jiù bèi kùn de jū mín.
    Rescue workers are rescuing the trapped residents.
  • 援救。
    Xiāo fáng yuán huā le sān gè xiǎo shí yuán jiù chū le nà zhī māo.
    The firefighters spent three hours rescuing that cat.
  • 援救。
    Zhèng fǔ pài chū le jūn duì qù yuán jiù shòu zāi de cūn zhuāng.
    The government sent troops to rescue the disaster-stricken village.

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
救jiùsave

援 (help) and 救 (save) together mean rescue someone.

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
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
Safety & Danger

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