监护权 (jiān hù quán) — custody (of a child); legal guardianship

Definition

noun
custody (of a child)legal guardianship

Examples

  • 监护权
    Lí hūn hòu, mǔ qīn huò dé le hái zi de jiān hù quán.
    After the divorce, the mother obtained custody of the child.
  • 监护权
    Fǎ yuàn zuì zhōng bǎ jiān hù quán pàn gěi le fù qīn.
    The court ultimately awarded custody to the father.
  • 监护权
    Fù mǔ shuāng fāng dōu xiǎng yào hái zi de jiān hù quán.
    Both parents want custody of the child.

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.

监护guardianship
jiānsuperviseprotect
联合Coordinate

“监护” means to watch over and protect, and “权” is the legal right, giving custody or guardianship.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 監; 监 is its simplified writing.

  • a person with an emphasized eye
  • mǐncontainer

The traditional form 監 shows 臥, a person with an emphasized eye, looking into 皿, a container; the simplified 监 is a later shorthand.

Open 监 →

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
Written in full asshǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

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

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →
Appears in

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