并
and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]
Closest English meanings
together·and·combine
The Calligrapher — Mǐ Fú 米芾
Song eccentric genius of dynamic, 'flying' running script.
Song calligrapher (1051–1107), master of running script — Song eccentric genius ('crazy Zhang, idiot Mi') whose running script alternates discipline with glee. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
并 gathers the old forms 並 and 并, meaning 'to stand side by side' or 'to combine.' The Shuowen reads it as two things moving together, and the classics use 并 to join clauses and armies alike. To 并肩 was to fight shoulder to shoulder; to 并 was to merge lands under one rule. The word thus holds both grammar and brotherhood - the act of putting two things, or two people, in one line.
Common words & phrases
- 并且 and · besides
- 合并 merge · combine
- 并肩 shoulder to shoulder
- 并列 juxtapose · tie
- 并排 side by side
- 并发 complicate · concurrent
Read the story behind the character
You say 'we won 并且 we celebrated,' and a company 合并, merges, with a rival. Friends walk 并肩, shoulder to shoulder, and two names 并列, rank equally, on the honour roll. Cars park 并排, side by side, and a server handles 并发, concurrent, requests. From a love line to a database, 并 is the little word that puts things together without losing either.
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