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霸占 (bà zhàn) — to forcibly occupy (land, property, etc.); to seize; to dominate (a position, attention, etc.); to monopolize

Definition

霸占 means to forcibly seize and keep (a place, position, or attention) — 'seize by force'. Stronger than 占领 (neutral 'occupy'); 垄断 is specifically about market monopoly, 强占 emphasizes the aggressive act of taking.

verb
to forcibly occupy (land, property, etc.)to seizeto dominate (a position, attention, etc.)to monopolize

Examples

  • 霸占，。
    Tā shì tú bà zhàn jīng lǐ de zhí wèi, dàn shī bài le.
    He tried to seize the manager's position, but failed.
  • 霸占。
    Xiǎo bǎo zǒng shì bà zhàn zhe yáo kòng qì bú ràng wǒ kàn bié de jié mù.
    Xiao Bao always monopolizes the remote and won't let me watch other shows.
  • 霸占。
    Lì shǐ shàng zhè ge dì guó bà zhàn le xǔ duō xiǎo guó de lǐng tǔ.
    Historically, this empire forcibly occupied the territories of many small countries.

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.

霸bàby force
占zhànoccupy

霸 means by force or tyrannically and 占 means occupy, so it means to occupy by force.

Characters in this word

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

The original form paired 革 with 月 to show changes in moonlight.

Open 霸 →

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 佔; 占 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn佔zhàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 佔 has a person part 亻 and a sound part 占; the simplified 占 is a later abbreviation.

Open 占 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Conflict & Agreement

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