相助 (xiāng zhù) — to help each other; to assist one another (formal/literary)

Definition

Formal/literary verb meaning 'to help each other' — reciprocal aid between parties. More literary than the plain 帮助 or the everyday 帮忙; often used in set phrases like 互∼ and ∼之手.

verb
to help each otherto assist one another (formal/literary)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，相助。
    Wēi jí guān tóu, tā men shēn chū le xiāng zhù zhī shǒu.
    At the critical moment, they extended a helping hand.
  • 。
    Lín lǐ zhī jiān yīng dāng hù xiāng zhù.
    Neighbors should help each other.
  • 相助，。
    Méi yǒu dà jiā de xiāng zhù, wǒ wú fǎ wán chéng zhè xiàng rèn wu.
    Without everyone's mutual assistance, I couldn't have completed this task.

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
助zhùhelp

相 “mutual” and 助 “help” together mean helping one another.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrong arm
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě助zhù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

助 pairs 力, a strong arm, with 且, which gives the sound; the meaning is help with strength.

Open 助 →

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