登记处 (dēng jì chǔ) — registration office, registry

Definition

noun
registration officeregistry
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 登记处
    Wǒ men qù dēng jì chǔ bàn jié hūn shǒu xù.
    We go to the registry office to go through the marriage procedures.
  • 登记处
    Tā zài dēng jì chǔ mén kǒu pái duì děng le yí gè xiǎo shí.
    He waited in line for an hour outside the registry office.
  • 登记处
    Nǐ yào dào dēng jì chǔ qù bǔ bàn shēn fèn zhèng.
    You need to go to the registration office to reapply for an ID card.

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.

登记register
dēngenter/registerrecord
联合Coordinate
chùoffice/place

登记 gives 'register' and 处 gives 'office/place', so the word names a registration office.

Characters in this word

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

  • left and right feet
  • dòupictogrammic of raised object; stepping stone

登 pairs 癶, left and right feet, with 豆, a raised object or stepping stone; its older form also showed two hands at the bottom, which later dropped.

Open 登 →

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
yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
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 →

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 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
zhǐ
table
Sound part声符shēngfú
chǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →

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