建 (jiàn) · to build; to construct

Meanings

1 to build; to construct
2 to establish; to found

Characters

建

jiàn

to build; to establish

Contains 廴 (long stride radical) - taking steps to build something.

Examples

HSK 4

这里要建一座桥。

Zhèlǐ yào jiàn yī zuò qiáo.

A bridge is going to be built here.

HSK 5

他们计划建一所学校。

Tāmen jìhuà jiàn yī suǒ xuéxiào.

They plan to build a school.

HSK 7-9

建一个微信群吧。

Jiàn yígè Wēixìnqún ba.

Let's create a WeChat group.

Tips

usage

建 is rarely used alone in formal Chinese. It usually appears in compounds: 建设, 建立, 建造, 建议.

culture

In modern internet slang, 建群 (jiàn qún) means 'to create a group chat' - very common on WeChat.

Components

radical

廴 yǐn

long-stride radical

Bottom-left long-stride radical (Kangxi #54) - a stretched-out 廴 shape derived from 辶, picturing a foot taking a long stride. The indexing radical of 建. Marks 建 as a forward-moving establishing action: walking out a plan and putting it into place. Same radical anchors 廷 (court), 廻 (circuit) - a small but architectural family.

semantic

聿 yù

writing brush

Inner 聿 - a pictograph of a hand 又 holding a writing brush (the vertical with horizontal hairs). Carries the iconography: a hand drafting a plan (the brush) and walking it into reality (the stride). Originally 建 meant to draft and erect - drawing up plans then constructing them. Same component anchors 律 (law), 笔 (brush - 竹+聿).