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篡改 (cuàn gǎi) — to falsify, to tamper with (documents, records, history); to deliberately distort (facts)

Definition

A formal/literary verb for deliberately falsifying a written record — history, documents, data, facts. It implies malicious intent, stronger than the general 'change' 改.

verb
to falsifyto tamper with (documents, records, history)to deliberately distort (facts)

Examples

  • 篡改，。
    Tā shì tú cuàn gǎi lì shǐ, dàn bèi xué zhě men fā xiàn le.
    He tried to distort history, but was discovered by scholars.
  • 篡改，。
    Zhè fèn wén jiàn bèi rén cuàn gǎi guò, shù jù bù zhēn shí.
    This document was tampered with; the data is not authentic.
  • 篡改。
    Wǒ men bù néng cuàn gǎi shì shí lái yíng hé zì jǐ de guān diǎn.
    We cannot falsify facts to suit our own views.

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.

篡cuànillegal alteration
改gǎichange

篡 for illegal alteration plus 改 for change gives to falsify or tamper.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì改gǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early form of 改 paired 巳 as a sound part with 攴 as a meaning part; the sound part later changed.

Open 改 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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