权位 (quán wèi) — political power and position; authority (in a political context)

Definition

noun
political power and positionauthority (in a political context)

Examples

  • 权位。
    Tā wèi le zhēng duó quán wèi bù zé shǒu duàn.
    He would stop at nothing to contend for power and position.
  • 权位。
    Lì shǐ shàng de quán wèi zhī zhēng cháng cháng dǎo zhì zhàn zhēng.
    The struggle for power and position in history often led to war.
  • 权位，。
    Tā suī rán yōng yǒu hěn gāo de quán wèi, dàn shēng huó bìng bú kuài lè.
    Although he holds a high position of power, his life is not happy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

权quánpower
位wèiposition

The characters '权' power and '位' position combine to mean political authority and rank.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì位wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Open 位 →

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