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牵连 (qiān lián) — to implicate, to involve (someone in trouble); to link together, to be interconnected

Definition

Verb meaning 'to implicate / to link together.' The first sense is human-focused — being dragged into someone else's trouble; the second is abstract — two issues being interconnected.

verb
to implicateto involve (someone in trouble)to link togetherto be interconnected

Examples

  • 牵连。
    Zhè jiàn shì qiān lián le hěn duō rén.
    This matter implicated many people.
  • 牵连。
    Tā yīn wèi nà jiàn shì bèi qiān lián le.
    He was implicated because of that matter.
  • 牵连。
    Zhè liǎng gè wèn tí hù xiāng qiān lián.
    These two problems are interconnected.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

牵qiānpull
连liánlink

牵 and 连 both express linking or pulling together, so the word means to be involved or connected.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 牽; 牵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
牛牛niúcow, ox
Sound part声符shēngfú
玄
玄xuán牽qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 牽 is built from 玄 and 牛, an ox, giving the picture of leading an ox by hand. The simplified 牵 is a later shorthand.

Open 牵 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 連; 连 is its simplified writing.

  • 辶辵chuòto walk
  • 車車jūchariot

The traditional form 連 joins 辶 (walk) and 車 (chariot) to show a man-drawn carriage; this note is about 連, not the simplified 连.

Open 连 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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