派 (pài) — to send, to dispatch, to assign; faction, school, group; pie (loanword)
Definition
As a verb, 派 (pài) means to send or assign a person — typically with a task or destination (e.g. 派人去北京). It's more formal than 发 (which covers dispatching things like messages) and lighter than 指定 ('appoint/designate officially').
to sendto dispatchto assignfactionschoolgrouppie (loanword)
Examples
- 派。Lǎo bǎn pài tā qù běi jīng kāi huì.The boss sent him to Beijing for a meeting.
- 派。Zhè liǎng pài de zhèng zhì guān diǎn hěn bù tóng.These two factions have very different political views.
- 派。Zhè jiā diàn de pài hěn hǎo chī.The pie at this shop is very delicious.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.
Appears in
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