终身伴侣 (zhōng shēn bàn lǚ) — lifelong companion; one's spouse

Definition

noun
lifelong companionone's spouse

Examples

  • 终身伴侣。
    Tā men jué dìng chéng wéi zhōng shēn bàn lǚ.
    They decided to become lifelong companions.
  • 终身伴侣。
    Tā zhǎo dào le zì jǐ de zhōng shēn bàn lǚ.
    She found her lifelong companion.
  • 终身伴侣。
    Wǒ xī wàng hé wǒ de zhōng shēn bàn lǚ yì qǐ biàn lǎo.
    I hope to grow old with my lifelong companion.

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.

终身whole life
终zhōngwhole身shēnlife
偏正Modifier + head
伴侣companion
伴bàncompanion侣lǚcompanion
联合Side by side

终 and 身 give whole life, while 伴 and 侣 both mean companion; together they denote a lifelong spouse.

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 終; 终 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
冬
冬dōng終zhōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 終 pairs 糸 (a cord) with 冬 as a sound part; the simplified 终 is a later shorthand. An older form showed a knot at the end of a cord.

Open 终 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

Open 身 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn伴bàn
Same sound today

伴 puts 亻 (person) beside 半. The person part fits the meaning of companion, and 半 gives the sound.

Open 伴 →

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 侶; 侣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺅Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
呂
呂lǚ侶lǚ
Same sound today

The traditional form 侶 is made from 人 (person) and 呂; 人 gives the companion meaning and 呂 gives the sound.

Open 侣 →

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