偏题 (piān tí) — (verb) to stray from the topic, to go off-topic; (noun) an obscure or tricky exam question that tests peripheral knowledge

Definition

As a verb: to stray from the topic, like writing an essay that misses the assigned subject. As a noun: a trick or obscure exam question that tests edge-case knowledge. Note the same word covers both senses.

verb
to stray from the topicto go off-topic
noun
an obscure or tricky exam question that tests peripheral knowledge

Examples

  • 偏题，。
    Tǎo lùn de shí hou nǐ piān tí le, wǒ men shuō de shì jīng jì wèn tí.
    You went off-topic during the discussion; we were talking about economic issues.
  • 偏题，。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì chū le hǎo jǐ dào piān tí, hěn duō tóng xué dōu bú huì zuò.
    This exam had several trick questions, and many students couldn't solve them.
  • ，。
    Tā xiě zuò wén shí piān le tí, suǒ yǐ fēn shù bù gāo.
    He went off-topic when writing his essay, so his score wasn't high.

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.

偏piānstray
题tíquestion

偏 means 'stray' and 题 means 'question', so a question that strays from the usual topic.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
扁
扁biǎn偏piān
Same sound today

偏 combines 亻 (人, a person) with 扁, which gives the sound.

Open 偏 →

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 →

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