政治学 (zhèng zhì xué) — political science | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

political science

Examples

政治学。
Tā dà xué shí zhǔ xiū zhèng zhì xué.
He majored in political science in college.
政治学。
zhèng zhì xué Jiào shòu zài kè táng shàng tǎo lùn le mín zhǔ zhì dù.
The political science professor discussed democracy in class.
政治学，。
Wǒ duì zhèng zhì xué hěn gǎn xìng qù, suǒ yǐ xuǎn le zhè mén kè.
I'm very interested in political science, so I took this course.

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.

政治politics

政zhènggovernment/politics治zhìgovernance

联合Coordinate

政治 (politics and governance) + 学 (study) forms the study of politics.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

台

台tái治zhì

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

治 has 水 (water) and 台; 台 gives the sound, and the character named a river.

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

爻爻yáo
六六liù

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Appears in

Government & Politics School Subjects

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