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配对 (pèi duì) — to pair up, to match (as a pair); (biology) to mate

Definition

配对 means to form or arrange things into pairs — used for matching socks/cups, pairing up partners, and mating in biology. This is a separable verb: 配一下对, 配好对.

verb
to pair upto match (as a pair)(biology) to mate

Examples

  • 配对。
    Tā men liǎ zài bǐ sài zhōng pèi duì.
    The two of them paired up in the competition.
  • ，。
    Zhè duì dòng wù pèi guò liǎng cì duì, dàn hái méi yǒu chéng gōng.
    This pair of animals has mated twice, but hasn't succeeded yet.
  • 配对。
    Fú wù yuán gěi zhè xiē bēi zi pèi duì.
    The waiter matches these cups into pairs.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

配pèimatch
对duìpair

配对 combines 配 match and 对 pair to mean putting two things together as a pair.

Characters in this word

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

  • 酉酉yǒualcohol vessel
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

配 is formed by putting 酉, an alcohol vessel, next to 卩, a kneeling person. The reference gives these two parts, but not the reason they combine.

Open 配 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →
Appears in
Biology

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