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行会 (háng huì) — guild

Definition

noun
guild

Examples

  • 行会。
    Ōu zhōu yǒu hěn duō gǔ lǎo de háng huì.
    Europe has many ancient guilds.
  • 行会。
    Tā jiā rù le běn dì de shǒu gōng yì háng huì.
    He joined the local handicraft guild.
  • 行会。
    háng huì Guī dìng le chǎn pǐn de zhì liàng biāo zhǔn.
    The guild set quality standards for the products.

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.

行xíngtrade
会huìassociation

行 (trade) and 会 (association) combine to name a trade association.

Characters in this word

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →
Appears in
Groups & Organizations

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