离婚 (lí hūn) — to divorce | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

离婚 is a separable verb meaning 'to divorce' — split it in V+过 sentences (他离过婚) and for aspect. Narrower than 离开 ('leave' any place/situation); not interchangeable with 分离, which is more abstract or physical.

verb

to divorce

Examples

离婚。
Tā men qù nián lí hūn le.
They divorced last year.
。
Tā lí guò liǎng cì hūn.
He has been divorced twice.
离婚。
Tā zhèng zài gēn zhàng fu bàn lí hūn shǒu xù.
She is going through divorce procedures with her husband.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

离líseparate from

婚hūnmarriage

“离” means to separate from, and “婚” means marriage, so together it means to end a marriage.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

离隹離

Meaning part形符xíngfú

隹隹zhuībird

Sound part声符shēngfú

离

离lí離lí

Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

女昏婚

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚ

Sound part声符shēngfú

昏

昏hūn婚hūn

Same sound today

婚 uses 女 (woman) for the meaning and 昏 for the sound hūn.

Open 婚 →

Appears in