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相左 (xiāng zuǒ) — to be at odds; to conflict; to disagree

Definition

verb
to be at oddsto conflictto disagree

Examples

  • 相左。
    Tā men de yì jiàn cháng cháng xiāng zuǒ.
    Their opinions often conflict.
  • 。
    Zhè liǎng xiàng zhèng cè zài mù biāo shàng xiāng zuǒ.
    These two policies conflict in their goals.
  • 相左。
    Tā men yīn wèi guān diǎn xiāng zuǒ ér zhēng lùn le hěn jiǔ.
    They argued for a long time because their views clashed.

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xiāngmutually
左zuǒleft

相 (mutually) and 左 (left) combine to mean being at odds.

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
工工gōngwork
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂇
𠂇𠂇左zuǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

左 grew from the picture 𠂇, a left hand, with 工 (work) added later.

Open 左 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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