政变 (zhèng biàn) — coup d'état | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

coup d'état

Measure word · 次

Examples

政变。
Zhè ge guó jiā fā shēng le jūn shì zhèng biàn.
A military coup d'état took place in this country.
政变，。
zhèng biàn Zhī hòu, zhèng fǔ bèi pò xià tái.
After the coup d'état, the government was forced to step down.
政变。
Guó jì shè huì qiǎn zé le zhè cì zhèng biàn.
The international community condemned this coup d'état.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

政zhèngpolitics

A 变 that concerns 政 politics or government means a sudden seizure of power.

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

攴攴pūaction

Sound part声符shēngfú

正

正zhèng政zhèng

Same sound today

政 combines 正, which gives the sound, with 攴, an action-related part.

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 變; 变 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

䜌

䜌䜌變biàn

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

The traditional form 變 uses 䜌 as a sound part and 攴 as a meaning part.

Appears in

Government & Politics

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