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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

舉足輕重

/t͡ɕy²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵¹/
to play a decisive role
  • 举足轻重
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Origin

The phrase 舉足輕重 is composed of four characters: 舉 (to raise; to lift up), 足 (foot), 輕 (light), and 重 (heavy). According to the MOE Dictionary, it describes a situation where lifting a foot can change the weight on both sides and cause a loss of balance, characterizing a person of such important status that their every move can influence the overall situation.

Individual character components provide further detail. 舉 contains the semantic component 手 (hand) and the phonetic component 與 (to give; to offer). The character 與 itself is linked to the phonetic components 舁 (to carry on one's shoulder) and 牙 (tooth), with 舁 further containing 臼 (mortar) and 廾 (both hands). 輕 is formed with the semantic component 車 (land vehicle) and the phonetic component 巠 (streams running underground). Finally, 重 uses the semantic component 人 (man; person) and the phonetic component 東 (east).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

這個成語由四個漢字組成。其中「舉」字包含表示「手」的語義成分，並以「與」作為音符；而在「與」字的結構中，包含了「舁」與「牙」兩個成分，其中「舁」則由「臼」與「廾」組成。此外，「舉」字也與「抬起」或「舉起」的意義相關。

其他組成字方面，「足」代表腳；「輕」字意指重量輕，其字形由「車」作為語義成分，並以「巠」作為音符；「重」字則意指重量重，由「人」作為語義成分，並以「東」作為音符。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese舉 “to raise; to lift up”
    • soundChinese與 “to give; to offer”
      • soundChinese舁 “to carry on one's shoulder”
        • ideaChinese臼 “mortar (hollow vessel used to pound or crush ingredients)”
        • ideaChinese廾 “both hands”
      • soundChinese牙 “tooth (Classifier: 顆／颗 m; 隻／只 m c; 棚 c)”
    • meaningChinese手 “hand (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn; 雙／双 m mn; 對／对 c)”
  • characterChinese足 “foot”
  • characterChinese輕 “light (of low weight)”
    • meaningChinese車 “land vehicle; (specifically) car (Classifier: 輛／辆 m; 部 m c; 臺／台 m mn; 架 c; 頂／顶 mn; 張／张 mn-t; 乘 m)”
    • soundChinese巠 “streams running underground”
  • characterChinese重 “heavy”
    • meaningChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
    • soundChinese東 “east”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. to play a decisive role

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 一抬腳就能改變兩邊的重量，使其失去平衡。形容身分和地位極為重要，一舉一動皆足以影響全局。 例：他的專業能力好，又有衝勁，深受老闆器重，在公司具有舉足輕重的地位。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0