草拟 (cǎo nǐ) — to draft, to draw up (a document, plan, etc.)

Definition

verb

to draftto draw up (a document, plan, etc.)

草拟。
Tā zhèng zài cǎo nǐ yí fèn hé tong.
He is drafting a contract.
草拟。
Wǒ men cǎo nǐ le míng nián de gōng zuò jì huà.
We drafted next year's work plan.
草拟。
Zhè ge bào gào xū yào chóng xīn cǎo nǐ.
This report needs to be redrafted.

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.

拟nǐcompose

草 gives a rough draft sense and 拟 means to compose, so together they mean to draw up a draft.

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.

艹早草

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

早

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌以拟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

以

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拟 is made of 扌 (hand) and 以. The 扌 side is the hand part, and 以 gives the sound.

Appears in