相劝 (xiāng quàn) — to persuade, to urge, to offer advice (especially when trying to dissuade)

Definition

相劝 is a formal, mutual verb meaning 'to urge/persuade' (often to dissuade or encourage), used in writing more than speech — the everyday spoken verb is 劝.

verb
to persuadeto urgeto offer advice (especially when trying to dissuade)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 相劝，。
    Wǒ duō cì xiāng quàn, tā què bù kěn tīng.
    I repeatedly urged him, but he wouldn't listen.
  • 相劝。
    Péng you xiāng quàn tā bú yào chōng dòng.
    His friend advised him not to act impulsively.
  • 相劝。
    Dà jiā dōu xiāng quàn tā jiān chí xià qù.
    Everyone encouraged her to persevere.

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.

相xiāngmutual
劝quànpersuade

相 (mutual) + 劝 (persuade): to persuade one another or offer advice.

Characters in this word

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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 勸; 劝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn勸quàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勸 pairs 力 (strength) with 雚 as a sound part; the simplified 劝 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 劝 →

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