有益于 (yǒu yì yú) — to be beneficial to; to be good for

Definition

A formal written phrase meaning 'to be beneficial to'. Pairs with the object directly (有益于 + N); 利于 is a more common spoken equivalent.

verb
to be beneficial toto be good for

Examples

  • 有益于。
    Duō yùn dòng yǒu yì yú shēn tǐ jiàn kāng.
    Exercising more is good for your physical health.
  • 有益于。
    Dú shū yǒu yì yú zēng zhǎng zhī shi.
    Reading is beneficial for increasing knowledge.
  • 有益于。
    Bǎo hù huán jìng yǒu yì yú zǐ sūn hòu dài.
    Protecting the environment benefits future generations.

Origin

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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

益 puts 水 (water) above 皿 (a vessel), originally showing water overflowing the vessel.

Open 益 →

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

  • 一一yīflat stream of air
  • 丂丂kǎoto exhale

The old shape of 于 may have pictured an ancient wind instrument. Another explanation reads 一 as a flat stream of air and 丂 as an exhaling mark.

Open 于 →

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