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美德 (Měi Dé) — virtue

Definition

美德 refers to a specific admired quality, like honesty or courage, that a person has. 道德 is broader — the system of right and wrong that governs behavior.

noun
virtue

Examples

  • 美德。
    Chéng shí shì yì zhǒng zhòng yào de Měi Dé.
    Honesty is an important virtue.
  • 美德。
    Tā shì yí gè yǒu Měi Dé de rén.
    She is a person with virtue.
  • 美德。
    Wǒ men cóng xiǎo jiù xué xí gè zhǒng Měi Dé.
    We learn various virtues from a young age.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

美měiAmerica
德déGermany

美 stands for America, and 德 stands for Germany; together they name the two countries.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

Open 美 →

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
彳彳chìroad
Sound part声符shēngfú
惪
惪dé德dé
Same sound today

德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.

Open 德 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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