进贡 (jìn gòng) — (historical) to pay tribute (to a monarch or superior); (modern, derogatory) to bribe, to grease someone's palm

Definition

Literally 'present tribute' — a historical verb for vassals bringing gifts to an emperor. In modern spoken use it is derogatory, meaning to bribe an official to get favors.

verb
(historical) to pay tribute (to a monarch or superior)(modern, derogatory) to bribeto grease someone's palm

Examples

  • 进贡。
    Gǔ dài zhū hóu měi nián dōu yào xiàng tiān zǐ jìn gòng.
    In ancient times, vassals had to pay tribute to the emperor every year.
  • ，进贡。
    Tā wèi le ná dào nà ge xiàng mù, tōu tōu gěi guān yuán jìn gòng.
    He secretly bribed officials to get that project.
  • ，。
    Tā gēn nà ge lǐng dǎo jìn guò yí cì gòng, hòu lái shì qing jiù bàn chéng le.
    He bribed that leader once, and later the matter was handled.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

进jìnoffer
贡gòngtribute

进 means to offer, and 贡 means tribute; together they describe offering tribute.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

  • 辵辵chuòwalk
  • 隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →

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 貢; 贡 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng貢gòng
Same sound today

The traditional form 貢 uses 貝 for meaning and 工 for sound; the simplified 贡 is a later abbreviation.

Open 贡 →

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