起见 (qǐ jiàn) — for the sake of; in order to (used only in the fixed pattern 为...起见)

Definition

起见 (qǐjiàn) never stands alone — it appears only after 为...起见, meaning 'for the sake of' the noun before it (e.g. 为安全起见, 为方便起见).

noun
for the sake ofin order to (used only in the fixed pattern 为...起见)

Examples

  • 起见，。
    Wèi ān quán qǐ jiàn, qǐng xì hǎo ān quán dài.
    For safety's sake, please fasten your seatbelt.
  • 起见，。
    Wèi fāng biàn qǐ jiàn, wǒ men bǎ huì yì gǎi dào le xiàn shàng.
    For the sake of convenience, we moved the meeting online.
  • 起见，。
    Wèi jiàn kāng qǐ jiàn, tā měi tiān jiān chí pǎo bù.
    For the sake of health, he insists on running every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

起qǐraise
见jiànview

起, meaning raise, and 见, meaning view, once suggested raising a view, but the expression now means for the sake of.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

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