丛书 (cóng shū) — a series of books; a collection (of books)

Definition

noun

a series of booksa collection (of books)

Measure word · 套

丛书。
Zhè tào cóng shū shì guān yú zhōng guó lì shǐ de.
This series of books is about Chinese history.
丛书。
Tā zhèng zài biān xiě yí tào cóng shū.
He is compiling a series of books.
丛书。
Tú shū guǎn lǐ yǒu hěn duō kē xué cóng shū.
There are many science book series in the library.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

丛 (cluster) and 书 (book) combine to mean a cluster or series of books.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 叢; 丛 is its simplified writing.

丵取叢

Meaning part形符xíngfú

丵丵zhuó

Sound part声符shēngfú

取

取qǔ叢cóng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 叢 for 丛 combines 丵 with 取, where 取 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

聿聿yùwriting brush

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.