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陪衬 (péi chèn) — to set off by contrast; to serve as a foil or supporting element

Definition

A verb meaning to serve as a foil — used for something secondary that makes the main thing stand out by contrast, as in a minor character who highlights the protagonist.

verb
to set off by contrastto serve as a foil or supporting element

Examples

  • 陪衬。
    Zhè fú huà de shēn sè bèi jǐng hěn hǎo dì péi chèn le qián jǐng de huā duǒ.
    The dark background of this painting nicely sets off the flowers in the foreground.
  • ，陪衬。
    Zài wén zhāng zhōng, tā yòng cì yào rén wù lái péi chèn zhǔ jué de xìng gé.
    In the essay, he uses minor characters to serve as a foil for the protagonist's personality.
  • ，陪衬。
    Jiù jiàn zhù bèi bǎo liú xià lái, zuò wéi xīn qū de péi chèn.
    The old building was preserved to serve as a background for the new district.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

陪péiaccompany
衬chènset off

陪 means accompany and 衬 means set off; together they describe serving as a background that brings out something else.

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
阜阜fùsoil mountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu陪péi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

陪 pairs 阜, a mound of piled-up soil, with 咅 as a sound part; the mound gives the sense of joining up or staying close, as in accompanying.

Open 陪 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 衬 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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