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视为 (shì wéi) — to regard as; to view as; to consider (to be)

Definition

视为 is a formal, written verb meaning 'to regard/view as', often in passive contexts (被视为) for official or weighty judgments. Pick it over 当成/看作 (casual) for formal writing; 认为 is for personal opinions ('I think'), not classifying things.

verb
to regard asto view asto consider (to be)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 视为。
    Hěn duō rén bǎ chéng gōng shì wéi wéi yī de mù biāo.
    Many people regard success as the only goal.
  • 视为。
    Zhè ge fā xiàn bèi shì wéi kē xué shàng de zhòng dà tū pò.
    This discovery is regarded as a major breakthrough in science.
  • 视为。
    Tā shì wéi zhè cì jī huì wèi xīn de kāi shǐ.
    She regards this opportunity as a new beginning.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

视shìregard
为wèias

视 ('regard') and 为 ('as') combine to mean regard something as.

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 視; 视 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
示
示shì視shì
Same sound today

The story is about the traditional form 視: it combines 見, meaning see, with 示, which gives the sound shì.

Open 视 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Thinking & Cognition

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