局 jú office
office; bureau; game; situation
How to remember 局: 尸 corpse + 𠃌 blade + 口 mouth = office. Beside the corpse the detective finds a blade and a note in its mouth, and rushes them back to the office.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
局 = 尸 corpse + 𠃌 blade + 口 mouth
- 尸 corpse meaning
- 𠃌 blade sound
- 口 mouth sound
Beside the corpse the detective finds a blade and a note in its mouth, and rushes them back to the office.
How it came to be
The lower part gives the sound and the top part the meaning.
How it is used
- Noun for a government office/bureau: 邮局 (yóujú, post office), 公安局 (gōng'ānjú, police bureau).
- Separately means "situation, state of affairs": 大局 (dàjú, the overall situation), 局面 (júmiàn, aspect/phase of a situation).
- Also a measure word for a round of a game: 一局棋 (yì jú qí, a game of chess), 下一局 (xià yī jú, play another round).
Words with 局
- 邮局yóujúpost officeHSK 5
- 局限júxiànto limitHSK 6
- 局面júmiànaspectHSK 6
- 全局quánjúoverall situationHSK 7
- 出局chūjúto be put out (in baseball)HSK 7
- 大局dàjúoverall situationHSK 7
- 局部júbùpartHSK 7
- 格局géjústructureHSK 7
- 结局jiéjúconclusionHSK 7
- 顾全大局gùquán-dàjúto take the big picture into considerationHSK 7
- 僵局jiāngjúimpasseHSK 8
- 局势júshìsituationHSK 8
- 布局bùjúarrangementHSK 8
Example sentences
- 我去邮局寄信。 Wǒ qù yóujú jìxìn.I'm going to the post office to mail a letter.
- 邮局就在正前方。 Yóujú jiù zài zhèng qiánfāng.The post office is right in front.