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禁酒 (jìn jiǔ) — to ban alcohol, to prohibit alcoholic beverages

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning 'to ban alcohol' (a city, government, or policy does this, not a person). A separable verb: insert 了 between the characters for completed action, e.g. 禁了酒.

verb
to ban alcoholto prohibit alcoholic beverages

Examples

  • 。
    Qù nián zhè ge chéng shì jìn le jiǔ.
    Last year this city banned alcohol.
  • 禁酒。
    Zhèng fǔ xuān bù le quán miàn jìn jiǔ.
    The government announced a comprehensive ban on alcohol.
  • 禁酒。
    Hěn duō gōng gòng chǎng suǒ dōu shí xíng le jìn jiǔ.
    Many public places have implemented an alcohol ban.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

禁jìnprohibit
酒jiǔalcohol

禁 means to prohibit, and 酒 is alcoholic drink, giving the sense of banning alcohol.

Characters in this word

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
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →
Appears in
Alcohol & Tobacco

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