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设定 (shè dìng) — to set, to establish (rules, goals, parameters); to set up, to create (a scenario, environment, or system)

Definition

设定 means to 'set' or 'establish' — a parameter, rule, goal, or fictional scenario. Compared with 设置 (software/install focus) and 设立 (institutions/organizations), 设定 is broader, covering both rules and imagined scenarios like in film or games.

verb
to setto establish (rules, goals, parameters)to set upto create (a scenario, environment, or system)

Examples

  • 设定。
    Gōng sī shè dìng le xīn de xiāo shòu mù biāo.
    The company set new sales targets.
  • 设定。
    Nǐ xū yào xiān shè dìng yí gè yòng hù míng hé mì mǎ.
    You need to first set a username and password.
  • 设定。
    Dǎo yǎn wèi zhè bù diàn yǐng shè dìng le yí gè wèi lái shì jiè.
    The director set up a futuristic world for this movie.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

设shèset up
定dìngfix

设 gives set up and 定 gives fix, together meaning establish.

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 設; 设 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì設shè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 設 uses 言 (speech) to show the meaning and 埶 to give the sound; this explanation is for 設, not the simplified 设.

Open 设 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng定dìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

定 is built from 宀 and 正, with 正 supplying the sound.

Open 定 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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