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观念 (guān niàn) — (noun) concept; notion; idea; (noun) views; outlook (often regarding social or moral values)

Definition

观念 (guānniàn) is a stable 'view, outlook' — usually about values, society, or morality. Heavier and more value-laden than 想法 (a passing thought), more concrete than 思想 (an ideology).

noun
conceptnotionideaviewsoutlook (often regarding social or moral values)

Examples

  • 观念。
    Tā de shè huì guān niàn hěn kāi fàng.
    His social views are very open.
  • 观念。
    Wǒ men yào gǎi biàn chuán tǒng guān niàn.
    We need to change traditional concepts.
  • 观念。
    Nǐ de guān niàn yǐ jīng guò shí le.
    Your ideas are already outdated.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

观guānview
念niànthought

观 and 念 both refer to looking and thinking, so it means a concept or outlook.

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 觀; 观 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn觀guān
Same sound today

The traditional form 觀 uses 見 (see) for meaning and 雚 for sound.

Open 观 →

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

念 combines 今, an upside-down mouth, with 心, the heart, to listen to one's heart.

Open 念 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Abstract Concepts

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