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明了 (míng liǎo) — to understand, to be clear about (something)

Definition

As a verb, 明了 means 'to clearly understand' a situation, issue, or concept — a written/formal register word, more literary than 明白 (also adj. 'clear/obvious'). Often used in 了解了 / 明了了 form.

verb
to understandto be clear about (something)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā hěn kuài jiù míng le zì jǐ de cuò wù.
    He quickly understood his own mistake.
  • 。
    Nǐ bì xū míng le zhè ge wèn tí de yán zhòng xìng.
    You must understand the seriousness of this problem.
  • ，。
    Jīng guò lǎo shī de jiě shì, wǒ men zhōng yú míng liǎo liǎo zhè ge gài niàn.
    After the teacher's explanation, we finally understood this concept.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

明míngclear
了liǎounderstand

明 means clear and 了 means understand, together they express clarity or understanding.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

了 was once drawn to show a baby with no arms; some old comments say it showed crossed or tangled legs.

Open 了 →
Appears in
Thinking & Cognition

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