Comparing "baohu" and "weihu"

保护 and 维护 both are verbs that are related to safety and preservation and in some cases can be used interchangeably. Yet, for the most part, 保护 and 维护 are used very differently and in entirely different contexts. First off, when used in this sense 保护 is used in more informal settings, whereas 维护 in this sense is used in formal settings. Second, 保护 means “to protect” and is usually paired with protecting someone or some concrete thing. This is compared to 维护 which to safeguard, to defend and is usually paired with abstract ideas, i.e., freedom, national interests, world peace, etc. Finally, only 维护 can be used to mean to perform regular maintenance or to service, as in a product, a road, a building, etc (when used in this sense, 维护 is used in informal settings).

	保护 (bǎohù)	维护 (wéihù)
Meaning	to protect	to safeguard, to perform regular maintenance
Part of Speech	verb	verb
Formality	informal	formal, informal