镇住 (zhèn zhù) — to suppress, to put down (a rebellion, protest,…

Definition

镇住 means to put someone or something down with force — quelling a rebellion, silencing a crowd, or suppressing an emotion. Emphasizes decisive control rather than gradual pressure.

verb

to suppressto put down (a rebellion, protest, emotion, etc.)

Examples

镇住。
Zhèng fǔ zhōng yú zhèn zhù le zhè chǎng pàn luàn.
The government finally put down this rebellion.
镇住。
Tā nǔ lì zhèn zhù xīn zhōng de nù huǒ.
He tried hard to suppress the anger in his heart.
镇住。
Tā de huà zhèn zhù le suǒ yǒu rén de qì yàn.
Her words suppressed everyone's arrogance.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

镇zhènsuppress

住zhùfirmly

镇 means suppress and 住 adds firmness, together giving put down.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鎮; 镇 is its simplified writing.

金真鎮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

真

真zhēn鎮zhèn

Same sound today

The traditional form 鎮 uses 金, metal, and 真, which gave its sound; it depicted pressing down with a metal weight. The simplified 镇 is a later abbreviation.

Open 镇 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻主住

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

主

主zhǔ住zhù

Same sound today

住 pairs 亻, the person radical (written fully as 人), with 主, which supplies the sound.

Open 住 →

Appears in