激进 (jī jìn) — radical (in ideas, actions, etc.)

Definition

adjective
radical (in ideas, actions, etc.)

Examples

  • 激进。
    Tā de guān diǎn fēi cháng jī jìn.
    His views are very radical.
  • 激进。
    Zhè zhǒng jī jìn de zuò fǎ kě néng huì yǐn qǐ zhēng yì.
    This kind of radical approach might cause controversy.
  • 激进。
    Tā bù xǐ huan jī jìn de yīn yuè.
    She doesn't like radical music.

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.

激jīintense
进jìnadvance

激 (intense) and 进 (advance) together suggest an intense forward push, hence radical.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
敫
敫jiǎo激jī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 激, the 氵 side marks water, and 敫 gives the sound jiǎo; the original sense is water swashing.

Open 激 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

  • 辵辵chuòwalk
  • 隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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