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牢记 (láo jì) — to keep firmly in mind; to remember well (often of lessons, principles, or important facts)

Definition

牢记 means to keep something firmly in mind — a deeper, more deliberate hold than 记得. More formal and emphatic than 记; near-synonym of 铭记 but 牢记 is also used in speech.

verb
to keep firmly in mindto remember well (often of lessons, principles, or important facts)

Examples

  • 牢记。
    Wǒ men yào láo jì zhè ge lì shǐ jiào xùn.
    We must keep this historical lesson firmly in mind.
  • 牢记，。
    Qǐng láo jì, ān quán dì yī.
    Please remember well: safety comes first.
  • 牢记。
    Tā ràng wǒ láo jì lǎo shī de jiào dǎo.
    He told me to keep the teacher's instructions firmly in mind.

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.

牢láofirmly
记jìremember

牢 means firmly and 记 means to remember, so the action is remembering in a firm way.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánpen; animal yard
  • 牛牛niúcow

牢 places 牛, a cow, under 宀, a pen or animal yard.

Open 牢 →

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 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Thinking & Cognition

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