记过 (jì guō) — to record a demerit (as a formal disciplinary measure)

Definition

记过 (jìguò) is a formal, institutional verb meaning to give someone an official demerit as punishment — usually a school or workplace recording a minor disciplinary mark in a file.

verb
to record a demerit (as a formal disciplinary measure)

Examples

  • 记过。
    Tā yīn wèi chí dào bèi jì guō le.
    He was given a demerit for being late.
  • ，。
    Xué xiào jì le tā yí cì guò, tā jiù zài yě bù gǎn zuò bì le.
    The school gave him a demerit, and he never dared to cheat again.
  • 记过。
    Zhè cì jì guō chǔ fèn huì yǐng xiǎng tā de bì yè.
    This demerit penalty will affect his graduation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

记jìrecord
过guòfault

记 means to record and 过 means a fault: put a fault on record.

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 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.