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原创 (yuán chuàng) — to create (an original work)

Definition

原创 focuses on the work itself being original (first-created, not copied), as in 原创作品. Compare 创作 (the act of creating art/literature) and 首创 (being the first to do or invent something).

verb
to create (an original work)

Examples

  • 原创。
    Tā yuán chuàng le yì shǒu fēi cháng hǎo tīng de gē.
    He created a very pleasant original song.
  • 原创。
    Zhè ge pǐn pái yì zhí jiān chí yuán chuàng zì jǐ de chǎn pǐn.
    This brand has always insisted on creating its own original products.
  • 原创。
    Biān jù yuán chuàng le yí gè quán xīn de gù shi.
    The screenwriter created a brand-new original story.

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.

原yuánoriginal
创chuàngcreate

原 (original) and 创 (create) combine to mean making something new and original.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Open 原 →

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 創; 创 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng創chuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 創 pairs 倉 with 刀 (knife) to write 'wound', and 倉 gives the pronunciation. The simplified 创 is a later shorthand.

Open 创 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Art & Fine ArtsLiterature & Poetry

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