监理 (jiān lǐ) — to supervise; to oversee; to manage

Definition

A technical/professional term meaning 'to supervise' (a project, construction, production process) — more formal than 监督 (jiāndū), and used specifically for oversight of engineering or industrial work.

verb
to superviseto overseeto manage

Examples

  • 监理。
    Tā fù zé jiān lǐ zhè ge gōng chéng de zhì liàng.
    He is responsible for supervising the quality of this project.
  • 监理。
    Gōng sī pìn qǐng le tā lái jiān lǐ shēng chǎn liú chéng.
    The company hired him to oversee the production process.
  • 监理。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù yóu zhuān jiā quán chéng jiān lǐ.
    This project is supervised by experts throughout.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

监jiānsupervise
理lǐmanage

监 and 理 both express watching and handling, so together they mean supervising and managing.

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.

  • 臥臥wòa person with an emphasized eye
  • 皿皿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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

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