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相约 (xiāng yuē) — to agree to meet (at a certain time/place/activity), to mutually arrange (a meeting)

Definition

相约 means two or more people mutually agree to do something together (time, place, or activity). Unlike 约会 (a date/appointment, often romantic) and 约定 (an agreement reached after discussion), 相约 emphasizes the shared, reciprocal act of arranging.

verb
to agree to meet (at a certain time/place/activity)to mutually arrange (a meeting)

Examples

  • 相约。
    Wǒ men xiāng yuē míng tiān zài tú shū guǎn jiàn miàn ba.
    Let's agree to meet at the library tomorrow.
  • 相约。
    Tā men yǐ jīng xiāng yuē hǎo le hé zuò de fāng shì.
    They have already agreed on the way to cooperate.
  • 相约。
    Zhè ge zhōu mò wǒ men xiāng yuē yì qǐ qù pá shān.
    This weekend we have agreed to go hiking together.

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
约yuēarrange/promise

相 gives mutual agreement, and 约 means to arrange or promise, giving making an appointment together.

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 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Friends & Social

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