Parties, parliaments, elections and the people who hold office.
Political vocabulary is built from a handful of productive syllables, and once they are known a headline starts to come apart: 党is a party选to choose or elect议to debate政government选民 cast 选票 for a 候选人, who hopes to 当选. Two words sound exactly alike and are easy to confuse in reading: 权力is power权利is a right
The words
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Verb (9)
立法to legislate; legislationVerb5
很多人希望通过立法来保护动物。Many people hope animals will be protected by legislation.
投票to voteVerb4
明天上午八点开始投票。Voting starts at eight tomorrow morning.
Separable verb: 投了票, voted.
当选to be electedVerb5
他去年当选为市议会的成员。Last year he was elected a member of the city council.
The person elected is the subject: no passive word is needed.
竞选to run for office; to campaignVerb5
她决定竞选市长。She has decided to run for mayor.
连任to be re-elected; to serve another termVerb5
按照规定，他最多只能连任一次。Under the rules he can be re-elected only once.
执政to be in power; to governVerb5
这个政党已经执政八年了。This party has been in power for eight years.
治理to govern; to bring under control; governanceVerb5
这座城市花了十年治理河水污染。The city spent ten years tackling river pollution.
Used for problems as well as for countries: 治理污染.
宣布to announce; to declareVerb4
选举结果将在明天上午宣布。The election results will be announced tomorrow morning.
抗议to protest; protestVerb5
附近的居民抗议在这里建机场。Local residents are protesting against an airport being built here.
Noun (31)
政治politics; politicalNoun4
他大学学的是国际政治。What he studied at university was international politics.
政党political partyNoun5
这个国家有三个主要政党。This country has three main political parties.
A party member is a 党员.
议会parliamentNoun5
新的法律必须先由议会通过。A new law must first be passed by parliament.
The general word for a parliament; the US Congress is 国会.
国会congress; national parliamentNoun5
国会今天讨论了新的预算方案。Congress discussed the new budget plan today.
改革reform; to reformNoun4
这次改革让办手续变得简单多了。This reform has made dealing with paperwork much simpler.
民主democracy; democraticNoun5
同学们用民主的方式选出了班长。The pupils chose their class monitor democratically.
主权sovereigntyNoun5
这本书讨论了主权这个概念的来历。This book discusses where the idea of sovereignty comes from.
谈判negotiation; talks; to negotiateNoun5
两国的谈判进行了整整三天。The talks between the two countries went on for three whole days.
协议agreementNoun5
经过几轮会谈，双方终于签了协议。After several rounds of talks the two sides finally signed an agreement.
制裁sanctions; to impose sanctionsNoun5
制裁开始以后，这个国家的进口大大减少了。After the sanctions began, the country's imports fell sharply.
议员member of parliament; councillorNoun5
这位议员每个星期五都回家乡见选民。This MP goes back to her home town every Friday to meet voters.
候选人candidateNoun5
两位候选人昨晚在电视上进行了辩论。The two candidates held a television debate last night.
选民voter; the electorateNoun5
这次参加投票的选民比上次多。More voters took part this time than last time.
选票ballot; voteNoun5
她比对手多得了两千张选票。She won two thousand more votes than her opponent.
Measure word: 张.
任期term of officeNoun5
这个职位的任期是五年。The term of office for this post is five years.
反对党opposition partyNoun5
反对党对这项计划提出了很多问题。The opposition raised a lot of questions about this plan.
部长minister (head of a ministry)Noun5
教育部长今天参观了我们学校。The education minister visited our school today.
长 means head here and reads zhǎng, as in 校长.
总理premier; prime ministerNoun5
总理在会后回答了记者的问题。The premier answered journalists' questions after the meeting.
The head of government in China; for the UK or Japan 首相 is used.
首相prime minister (of the UK, Japan and others)Noun5
英国首相的办公室在伦敦。The British prime minister's office is in London.
相 is fourth tone here: minister, not mutual.
领导人leader (of a country or party)Noun5
两国领导人会谈后一起见了记者。After their talks the two countries' leaders met the press together.
政治家politician; statesmanNoun5
她从小就想当政治家。She has wanted to be a politician since she was little.
官员officialNoun5
一位政府官员介绍了新的规定。A government official explained the new regulations.
中央central; central governmentNoun4
这笔钱由中央和地方一起出。This money is paid jointly by central and local government.
Its counterpart is 地方, local, said with a full tone on its second syllable, dìfāng, unlike dìfang, a place.
内政domestic affairs; internal affairsNoun5
这次选举，选民最关心的是内政问题。In this election, what voters care about most is domestic issues.
外交官diplomatNoun5
她爸爸是外交官，所以她在好几个国家住过。Her father is a diplomat, so she has lived in quite a few countries.
权力power; authorityNoun4
法律规定了市长有哪些权力。The law sets out what powers the mayor has.
Not 权利, a right: same sound, different second character.
立场position; stanceNoun5
对于这个问题，两个政党的立场完全不同。On this question the two parties take completely different positions.
方针guiding principle; policy lineNoun5
新政府提出了发展教育的基本方针。The new government set out its basic principles for developing education.
Broader than 政策: the direction rather than a single measure.
多数majorityNoun4
这个方案得到了多数议员的支持。The proposal won the support of a majority of members.
Its opposite is 少数, minority.
内阁cabinetNoun5
新首相公布了内阁名单。The new prime minister announced who would be in the cabinet.
局势situation (political or military)Noun5
经过谈判，两国之间的局势有所缓和。After the negotiations, the situation between the two countries eased somewhat.
