追授 (zhuī shòu) — to award posthumously (a title, medal, or honor)

Definition

追授 (zhuīshòu) is a formal verb meaning to grant a title, medal, or honor to someone after they have died. It is a set phrase: the title or honor is the object, and the deceased is the recipient.

verb
to award posthumously (a title, medal, or honor)

Examples

  • 追授“”。
    Zhèng fǔ zhuī shòu tā "rén mín yīng xióng" chēng hào.
    The government posthumously awarded him the title of 'People's Hero'.
  • 追授。
    Zhè wèi xiāo fáng yuán bèi zhuī shòu le yì děng gōng.
    This firefighter was posthumously awarded a first-class merit.
  • 追授。
    Xué xiào wèi nà wèi liè shì zhuī shòu le róng yù xué wèi.
    The school posthumously awarded an honorary degree to that martyr.

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.

追zhuīafter the fact
授shòuaward

追 means after the fact or posthumously, and 授 means to award.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmovement
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂤
𠂤𠂤追zhuī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 辶 part shows movement, while 𠂤 gives the sound, for the sense of moving after or pursuing.

Open 追 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
受
受shòu授shòu
Same sound today

授 is built from 手 and 受. 受 gives the sound, and 手 is a hand.

Open 授 →

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