谦让 (qiān ràng) — to modestly decline or defer (something) out of politeness; to make a polite gesture of yielding

Definition

Polite social behavior of yielding or modestly declining — offering seats, praise, or gifts out of courtesy. The action of 礼 (ritual propriety) in practice, distinct from refusing with 拒绝.

verb
to modestly decline or defer (something) out of politenessto make a polite gesture of yielding

Examples

  • 谦让，。
    Tā yì zhí zài qiān ràng, bù kěn jiē shòu zhè ge jiǎng.
    He kept modestly declining and wouldn't accept this award.
  • 谦让，。
    Chī fàn shí dà jiā hù xiāng qiān ràng zuò wèi, zuì hòu shuí yě méi zuò zhǔ wèi.
    During the meal everyone was politely offering seats to each other, and in the end no one sat at the head of the table.
  • ，谦让。
    Miàn duì zhè fèn lǐ wù, tā qiān ràng le bàn tiān cái shōu xià.
    Faced with this gift, she modestly declined for a long while before finally accepting it.

Origin

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.

谦qiānmodest
让ràngyield

谦 gives a modest attitude and 让 means to yield, so it describes politely declining.

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 謙; 谦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
兼
兼jiān謙qiān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 謙 combines 言 (speech) with 兼 as a sound part; the simplified 谦 is a shorthand.

Open 谦 →

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 讓; 让 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
襄
襄xiāng讓ràng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 讓 combines 言, showing speech, with 襄, giving the sound; the evidence links it to criticizing or reproaching. The simplified 让 is a later shorthand.

Open 让 →

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