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物色 (wù sè) — to look for and select (a suitable person or thing); to scout; to recruit

Definition

物色 (wù sè) means to look for and pick out a suitable person or thing, with a sense of careful selection. Unlike plain 找, it implies actively scouting and choosing, often for a role, candidate, or location.

verb
to look for and select (a suitable person or thing)to scoutto recruit

Examples

  • 物色。
    Gōng sī zhèng zài wù sè yí wèi xīn de shì chǎng jīng lǐ.
    The company is looking for a new marketing manager.
  • 物色。
    Tā men huā le hǎo jǐ gè yuè wù sè hé shì de bàn gōng dì diǎn.
    They spent several months looking for a suitable office location.
  • 物色。
    Lǎo jiào shòu kāi shǐ wù sè zì jǐ de jiē bān rén.
    The old professor began to look for his own successor.

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.

物wùthings
色sèappearance

Choosing is based on the 色 (appearance) of 物 (things).

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
牛牛niú
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù物wù
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →

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

  • 爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Open 色 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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