欢送 (huān sòng) — to see off (with a warm send-off), to hold a farewell party for

Definition

A formal verb for giving someone a warm, often ceremonial send-off — think farewell parties or seeing off departing colleagues. Pairs naturally with 会 (欢送会 'farewell party').

verb
to see off (with a warm send-off)to hold a farewell party for

Examples

  • 欢送。
    Tóng xué men zài chē zhàn huān sòng lǎo shī.
    The students saw the teacher off at the station.
  • 。
    Gōng sī wèi tuì xiū de lǎo zhāng jǔ xíng le huān sòng huì.
    The company held a farewell party for retired Old Zhang.
  • 欢送。
    huān sòng De duì wu pái le hěn cháng.
    The farewell procession was very long.

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.

欢huānjoyfully
送sòngsend off

“欢” gives the warm, joyful mood and “送” means to send off, so the word is a cheerful send-off.

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 歡; 欢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn歡huān
Same sound today

The traditional form 歡 uses 雚 for the sound and 欠 for the meaning; the simplified 欢 is a later shorthand, so its parts do not carry that history.

Open 欢 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòto walk
Sound part声符shēngfú
灷
灷zhuàn送sòng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

送 combines 辶, the walking radical, with 灷, which supplies the sound; the walking part fits meanings like see off or deliver.

Open 送 →

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