晚期 (wǎn qī) — late stage; terminal phase; later period (of a… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

晚期 emphasizes the final, often most severe phase of a disease or process — stronger than 后期 ('later stage', more neutral). Use 晚期 for terminal illness or the decline of a dynasty; 晚年 refers to a person's old age.

noun

late stageterminal phaselater period (of a disease, historical era, or process)

Measure word · 个

Examples

晚期。
Tā mǔ qīn de fèi ái yǐ jīng dào wǎn qī le.
His mother's lung cancer has already reached the terminal stage.
晚期。
Míng cháo wǎn qī de zhèng zhì fēi cháng fǔ bài.
The politics of the late Ming dynasty was very corrupt.
晚期，。
Zài zhè ge xiàng mù wǎn qī, wǒ men yào zhù yì zhì liàng kòng zhì.
In the late stage of this project, we need to pay attention to quality control.

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.

期qīperiod

Late 晚 period 期 names the final stage of a process.

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.

日免晚

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

免

免miǎn晚wǎn

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

晚 pairs 日, the sun part, with 免, which supplies the sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Time (Abstract)

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