类推 (lèi tuī) — to reason by analogy; to analogize

Definition

A formal/academic verb meaning to reason or generalize by analogy — drawing a conclusion about something unknown from a known, similar case. Typical of legal, scientific, and linguistic writing, not everyday speech.

verb
to reason by analogyto analogize

Examples

  • 类推。
    Wǒ men kě yǐ cóng yǐ zhī qíng kuàng lèi tuī chū wèi zhī jié guǒ.
    We can reason out unknown results from known situations by analogy.
  • ，类推。
    Xué xí yǔ fǎ shí, bú yào máng mù lèi tuī.
    When learning grammar, don't blindly reason by analogy.
  • 类推。
    Zhè ge fǎ lǜ tiáo wén kě yǐ lèi tuī shì yòng yú lèi sì àn jiàn.
    This legal provision can be applied by analogy to similar cases.

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.

类lèicategory
推tuīinfer

类 points to a category or analogy, and 推 means infer, giving reasoning by analogy.

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 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
隹
隹zhuī推tuī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 is a hand, and the right side 隹 gives the sound; the character shows pushing with the hand.

Open 推 →

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