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相等 (xiāng děng) — to be equal; to be equivalent

Definition

相等 means two things are equal in value, size, or amount — a stative verb often used in math, science, and formal writing. It is more formal and limited to true equality than 等于 ('equals, is equivalent to'), which is the everyday verb for equations.

verb
to be equalto be equivalent

Examples

  • 相等。
    Zhè liǎng gè shù de dà xiǎo xiāng děng.
    These two numbers are equal in magnitude.
  • 相等。
    Tā men de shōu rù shuǐ píng bìng bù xiāng děng.
    Their income levels are not equal.
  • 相等。
    Zhè liǎng gè fāng chéng de jiě xiāng děng.
    The solutions to these two equations are equivalent.

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
等děngequal

相 contributes mutual or each other to 等, giving the idea of being equal.

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
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì等děng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Open 等 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Math

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