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残局 (cán jú) — (chess) endgame; (figurative) aftermath, situation after a failure or disaster

Definition

Literally the 'remaining board,' 残局 means an unfinished endgame (chess/Go) — used literally for the late phase of a game and figuratively for the messy situation left after a failure, war, or disaster.

noun
(chess) endgame(figurative) aftermath, situation after a failure or disaster
Measure word · 盘

Examples

  • 残局，。
    Zhè pán qí de cán jú fēi cháng fù zá, hěn nán yíng le.
    The endgame of this chess match is very complicated; it's hard to win.
  • ，残局。
    Gōng sī dǎo bì hòu, tā fù zé chǔ lǐ cán jú.
    After the company went bankrupt, he was in charge of dealing with the aftermath.
  • ，残局。
    Zhàn zhēng jié shù hòu, zhè ge guó jiā xiàn rù le jīng jì cán jú.
    After the war ended, this country fell into an economic aftermath.

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.

残cánremaining
局júsituation

残 describes what is left, and 局 is the situation or game.

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 殘; 残 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎivicious, bones
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān殘cán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殘 pairs 歹, a bone shape for injury, with 戔 for its sound; the simplified 残 is a later shorthand.

Open 残 →

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù局jú
Same sound today

The shape of 局 pairs 尸, a meaning part, with 句, a sound part.

Open 局 →
Appears in
Games & Puzzles

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