据
Character Story & Explanation
据 is widely used in modern Standard Chinese for attributing information, especially in journalism, academia, and official documents. A canonical phrase is 据报道 (jù bàodào, 'according to reports'), appearing in headlines and lead paragraphs across Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and People’s Daily. It also features in fixed expressions like 据说 (jùshuō, 'it is said') and the classical idiom 据理力争 (jù lǐ lì zhēng, 'to argue forcefully based on reason'), recorded in Ming-Qing era legal and philosophical texts.
The character evolved from seal script (c. 3rd century BCE), where its right component (居) indicated phonetic borrowing, while the left hand radical (扌) originally signaled action—reflecting its early verb meaning 'to occupy' or 'to hold (a position)'. By the Han dynasty, it had acquired its evidential prepositional use, documented in historical records like the *Book of Han* (《汉书》), where 据 is used to introduce cited testimony or official decrees.
据 (jù) is a versatile preposition and verb meaning 'according to', 'based on', or 'to cite'. Unlike English prepositions like 'according to', which are purely relational, 据 carries an active sense of grounding a claim in verifiable evidence—whether data, documents, or authoritative sources. It reflects a deep cultural value in Chinese communication: assertions must be anchored in credible reference points, not just opinion.
This character appears frequently in formal writing, news reports, academic papers, and legal texts—contexts where precision and attribution matter. Its use signals intellectual responsibility: the speaker or writer isn’t asserting something outright but deferring to a source. This aligns with Confucian ideals of humility before authority and tradition, contrasting with Western rhetorical styles that sometimes prioritize original argument over sourced support.
In daily speech, 据 is more common in written or semi-formal spoken Chinese (e.g., news broadcasts or presentations) than casual conversation, where people often use simpler alternatives like 听说 (tīngshuō, 'I heard') or 据我所知 (jù wǒ suǒ zhī, 'as far as I know'). Its presence elevates register and signals seriousness—similar to how English speakers might shift from 'I think' to 'According to the World Health Organization...' in professional settings.
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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