准 (zhǔn) · accurate, standard, to allow

Meanings

1 accurate
2 standard
3 to allow
4 to permit

Characters

准

zhǔn

accurate; to allow; standard

Contains the ice radical 冫, though the connection to cold is historical rather than semantic.

Examples

HSK 1

他说的很准。

Tā shuō de hěn zhǔn.

What he said was very accurate.

HSK 3

准你明天请假。

Zhǔn nǐ míngtiān qǐngjià.

You're allowed to take leave tomorrow.

HSK 4

你的表准吗？

Nǐ de biǎo zhǔn ma?

Is your watch accurate?

Tips

usage

准 has two main uses: as an adjective meaning 'accurate/precise' (准确, zhǔnquè), and as a verb meaning 'to allow/permit' (批准, pīzhǔn, to approve). Don't confuse with 准备 (zhǔnbèi, to prepare).

Components

radical

冫 bīng

ice (two-stroke)

Left ice radical, two short strokes representing ice crystals - the abbreviated form of 冰. In simplified 准 (from traditional 準) the original water radical 氵 was reduced to 冫. It supplies the meaning: a perfectly level water surface, the standard against which everything else is measured. From 'water level' came the modern senses 'accurate, exact, standard, to permit'.

phonetic

隹 zhuī

short-tailed bird

Right 隹 supplies the sound - zhuī shifted to zhǔn, with regular -uī/-ǔn rime alternation in this Old Chinese series. 隹 itself pictures a stubby-tailed bird (a sparrow, finch). The bird-imagery is incidental here; 隹 is read for phonetic value. Same series: 准, 谁, 推, all sharing the 隹 phonetic skeleton.