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用场 (yòng cháng) — use, usefulness, application

Definition

用场 (yòngcháng) is a colloquial noun for 'use' or 'usefulness' — only used in fixed phrases like 有用场 ('be of use') and 派上用场 ('come in handy'). It is not used as a standalone word.

noun
useusefulnessapplication

Examples

  • 用场。
    Zhè xiē dōng xī yǐ hòu hái yǒu hěn dà yòng cháng.
    These things will still be of great use later.
  • ，用场。
    Bié rēng diào tā, shuō bú dìng nǎ tiān néng pài shàng yòng cháng.
    Don't throw it away; it might come in handy someday.
  • 。
    Zhè zhǒng gōng jù zài xiū lǐ diàn qì shí hěn yǒu yòng cháng.
    This kind of tool is very useful when repairing electrical appliances.

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.

用yònguse
场chǎngfield or place

用 means use, 场 means field or place; the word pictures a place where something can be used.

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.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
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