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爬升 (pá shēng) — to ascend, to climb (especially of aircraft or gradual incline); to be promoted, to rise in position (figurative)

Definition

Literally 'crawl-rise': climb upward, used for aircraft gaining altitude or a steady upward climb, and figuratively for slow career advancement. Conveys gradual, effortful progress more than a sudden leap.

verb
to ascendto climb (especially of aircraft or gradual incline)to be promotedto rise in position (figurative)

Examples

  • 爬升。
    Fēi jī zhèng zài pá shēng dào yí wàn mǐ de gāo dù.
    The plane is climbing to an altitude of 10,000 meters.
  • 爬升。
    Dēng shān duì yòng le sān gè xiǎo shí pá shēng dào shān dǐng.
    The climbing team took three hours to ascend to the summit.
  • 爬升，。
    Tā zài gōng sī lǐ màn màn pá shēng, zhōng yú dāng shàng le jīng lǐ.
    He slowly climbed the corporate ladder and finally became a manager.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

爬páclimb
升shēngrise

Climbing and rising: 爬 and 升 both describe upward motion.

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
爪爪zhuǎ
Sound part声符shēngfú
巴
巴bā爬pá
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

爬 pairs 爪, the part that gives the meaning, with 巴, the part that gives the sound.

Open 爬 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape comes from a drawing of a standard dipper used to measure one 升.

Open 升 →
Appears in
Air TravelChange & Process

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