Chinese word

建

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiàn

Meaning

  • verbbuild

Example

他们要建一座桥。tā men yào jiàn yí zuò qiáo

They are going to build a bridge.

Illustration for 建 (build)

More examples

她打算今年建新房。tā dǎ suàn jīn nián jiàn xīn fáng

She plans to build a new house this year.

Core concept

Creates something that did not exist before and gives it a stable form, from a structure to an institution or relationship.

Common phrases

  • 建房子jiàn fáng zi

    build a house

  • 建学校jiàn xué xiào

    build a school

  • 建新房jiàn xīn fáng

    build a new house

Similar words

盖gài: Build a house or building, especially by adding its roof and upper parts.
修xiū: Fix and maintain a road or building that already exists.
造zào: Construct something by joining materials or separate parts.

Definition in Chinese

表示把建筑物或构造物从无到有地造起来，也可泛指设立机构、制度或建立关系等创造性地建立某物或某事的动作。biǎo shì bǎ jiàn zhù wù huò gòu zào wù cóng wú dào yǒu dì zào qǐ lái yě kě fàn zhǐ shè lì jī gòu zhì dù huò jiàn lì guān xì děng chuàng zào xìng dì jiàn lì mǒu wù huò mǒu shì de dòng zuò

Word origin

建 (jiàn, "to establish") developed from the idea of setting something upright or in place, linking physical construction with founding an institution or relationship.

Usage tips

  • For physical construction, everyday Chinese often uses a verb that names the particular work being done, whereas this word commonly appears in official language and compound words.

Other meanings

  • establishverb

Opposites

  • 拆掉chāi diàotear downverb

Related words

Word lists with this word