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结婚 (jié hūn) — to get married, to marry

Definition

The neutral verb for 'to get married,' used for either person or the couple. Contrast with 嫁 (a woman marrying into the husband's family) and 娶 (a man taking a wife).

verb
to get marriedto marry
Measure word · 次

Examples

  • 结婚。
    Tā men xià ge yuè jié hūn.
    They'll get married next month.
  • 。
    Tā jīn nián jié le hūn.
    He got married this year.
  • 结婚？
    Nǐ gēn tā jié hūn le ma?
    Did you get married to her?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

结jiétie
婚hūnmarriage

结 as tie and 婚 as marriage together make marry.

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 結; 结 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
吉
吉jí結jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 結 pairs 糸 with 吉; 吉 gives the sound, and 糸 relates to the meaning. The simplified 结 is a later shorthand.

Open 结 →

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
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 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsRomance & Marriage2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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