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道歉 (dào qiàn) — to apologize

Definition

道歉 is a verb meaning 'to apologize' for something you did wrong. Use 向 + person to say who you apologize to (向他道歉).

verb
to apologize

Examples

  • 道歉。
    Nǐ yīng gāi xiàng tā dào qiàn.
    You should apologize to him.
  • ，。
    Tā dào guò qiàn le, nǐ jiù yuán liàng tā ba.
    He's already apologized, so just forgive him.
  • 。
    Tā wèi tā zuò cuò de shì dào le qiàn.
    He apologized for the thing he did wrong.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

道dàoexpress
歉qiànapology

道 (express) and 歉 (apology) form the act of expressing apology.

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
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

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
欠欠qiànperson with mouth open
Sound part声符shēngfú
兼
兼jiān歉qiàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

歉 uses 兼 for its sound; 兼 is drawn as a hand holding two crop plants. It also uses 欠, a person with mouth open, to show feeling hunger after eating.

Open 歉 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsGreetings & Politeness2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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