证章 (zhèng zhāng) — badge (e.g., a metal or cloth emblem worn to in…

Definition

noun

badge (e.g., a metal or cloth emblem worn to indicate membership, rank, or affiliation)

Measure word · 枚

证章。
Tā xiōng qián dài zhe yì méi zhèng zhāng.
He is wearing a badge on his chest.
证章。
Gōng sī gěi měi wèi yuán gōng fā le yí gè zhèng zhāng.
The company gave each employee a badge.
证章。
Zhè méi zhèng zhāng dài biǎo tā cān jiā guò nà cì huó dòng.
This badge represents that he participated in that event.

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.

证 indicates proof of status, and 章 is the badge worn to show it.

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 證; 证 is its simplified writing.

言登證

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

登

登dēng證zhèng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 證 pairs 言, a words/speech part, with 登 as a sound clue; the simplified 证 is a later shorthand.

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

章 shows a chisel piercing a piece of jade in the middle. It originally meant treating jade.