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诉求 (sù qiú) — (verb) to demand, to call for, to petition; (noun) demand, request, appeal

Definition

诉求 emphasizes the demand or appeal itself (often a public, organized grievance), more so than 要求 (a neutral 'request/demand') and stronger than 请求 (a polite ask).

verb
to demandto call forto petition
noun
demandrequestappeal

Examples

  • 诉求。
    Xiāo fèi zhě xiàng gōng sī sù qiú péi cháng sǔn shī.
    Consumers demanded compensation from the company.
  • 诉求。
    Tā men de zhǔ yào sù qiú shì gǎi shàn gōng zuò huán jìng.
    Their main demand is to improve the working environment.
  • 诉求。
    Zhè ge guǎng gào lì yòng le xiāo fèi zhě de qíng gǎn sù qiú.
    This ad taps into consumers' emotional appeals.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

诉sùpetition
求qiúseek

诉 (petition) and 求 (seek) combine to mean a petitioned request or demand.

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 訴; 诉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword, speak
Sound part声符shēngfú
斥
斥chì訴sù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 訴 pairs 言 (word, speak) with 斥, which gives the sound and points to accusing by speech. The simplified 诉 is a later shorthand.

Open 诉 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

求 began as a drawing of a centipede.

Open 求 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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