辄 (zhé) — (literary) wheel track, rut; (literary) way of doing something; (adverb, in set phrases) always, invariably
Definition
辄 (zhé) is a literary adverb used only in set phrases like 浅尝辄止 and 动辄, meaning 'at every turn / always'. It is not used on its own in modern Chinese.
bound form
(literary) wheel trackrut(literary) way of doing something(adverb, in set phrases) alwaysinvariably
Easily confused
- 折zhésound-aliketo break, to fracture
- 哲zhésound-alike(bound form) wisdom; philosophy; sagacity
- 摺zhésound-alike(bound form) to fold
- 蛰zhésound-alike(bound form) to hibernate; to be in a dormant state
- 辙zhésound-alike(lit.) wheel ruts, track marks left by a vehicle
- 喆zhésound-alike(variant of 哲) used in given names and surnames; wisdom, philosophy
Examples
- 辄。Tā dòng zhé pī píng bié rén.He criticizes others at every turn.
- 。Xué xí bù néng qiǎn cháng zhé zhǐ.You can't just dabble in learning — you need to go deeper.
- 辄。Fán shì jiē yǒu zhé dào.Everything has its own way.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 輒; 辄 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcart
Sound part声符shēngfú
耴
耴yì輒zhé
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 輒 pairs 車 (cart) with 耴 as a sound part; 辄 is the simplified form of 輒.
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