政界 (zhèng jiè) — political circles, government circles | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Refers to the social sphere of politicians and people active in government, rather than government as an institution. Contrast with 官场 (officialdom, with bureaucratic undertones).

noun

political circlesgovernment circles

Examples

政界。
Tā zài zhèng jiè hěn yǒu yǐng xiǎng lì.
He is very influential in political circles.
政界。
zhèng jiè Rén shì dōu guān zhù zhè ge wèn tí.
People in political circles are all concerned about this issue.
政界。
Tā jué dìng tuì chū zhèng jiè.
He decided to withdraw from politics.

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/government

界jiècircle/field

“政” means politics/government, and “界” means circles/fields, so it names political circles.

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.

田介界

Meaning part形符xíngfú

田田tiánfield

Sound part声符shēngfú

介

介jiè界jiè

Same sound today

界 is built from 田 (field) and 介. 田 carries the meaning, while 介 gives the sound.

Appears in

Government & Politics

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