调拨 (diào bō) — to allocate and transfer (funds, materials, resources)

Definition

调拨 (diàobō) means officially allocating and transferring funds, materials, or personnel from one place to another — typically by an organization or government. The first character is pronounced 4th tone, not 2nd (as in 调动).

verb
to allocate and transfer (funds, materials, resources)

Examples

  • 调拨。
    Zhèng fǔ diào bō le dà liàng zī jīn yòng yú zāi qū chóng jiàn.
    The government allocated a large amount of funds for disaster area reconstruction.
  • 调拨。
    Gōng sī cóng cāng kù diào bō le yì pī wù zī zhī yuán qián xiàn.
    The company transferred a batch of supplies from the warehouse to support the front line.
  • 调拨。
    Rén lì zī yuán bù jué dìng diào bō liǎng míng gōng chéng shī dào xīn xiàng mù zǔ.
    The human resources department decided to transfer two engineers to the new project team.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

调tiáostir
拨bōmove

调 and 拨 both suggest stirring or moving things, so the word points to provoking discord.

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

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 撥; 拨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā撥bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 撥 combines 手 (hand) with 發, which gives the sound; the simplified 拨 is a different form.

Open 拨 →

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