TongTong
Sign in

主题 (zhǔ tí) — theme; subject; topic

Definition

主题 (zhǔtí) means the central theme or main topic of a work, speech, or event. Broader than 话题 (a conversation topic) and 题目 (a title or exam question); for artistic/literary works use 题材.

noun
themesubjecttopic
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 主题。
    Zhè ge zhǔ tí gēn huán jìng yǒu guān.
    This theme is related to the environment.
  • 主题。
    Dà jiā tǎo lùn le zhè cì huì yì de zhǔ tí.
    Everyone discussed the theme of this meeting.
  • 主题。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng zhǔ tí hěn shòu huān yíng.
    The theme of his speech was very well received.

Origin

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.

主zhǔmain
题títopic

主 contributes 'main' and 题 contributes 'topic', giving the central subject.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 題; 题 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
是
是shì題tí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 题, the traditional form 題 uses 是 for sound and 頁 for head, and means 'forehead'.

Open 题 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.