参考书 (cān kǎo shū) — reference book

Definition

noun
reference book
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • ，参考书。
    Xiě lùn wén de shí hou, wǒ jiè le jǐ běn cān kǎo shū.
    When writing my thesis, I borrowed several reference books.
  • 参考书。
    Zhè běn cān kǎo shū de nèi róng fēi cháng xiáng xì.
    The content of this reference book is very detailed.
  • 参考书。
    Nǐ kě yǐ qù tú shū guǎn zhǎo yì xiē cān kǎo shū.
    You can go to the library and look for some reference books.

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.

参考reference
参cānconsult考kǎoexamine
联合Side by side
书shūbook

参考 (consult and examine) + 书 (book): a book consulted for reference.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 參; 参 is its simplified writing.

For simplified 参, the story belongs to traditional 參, which combines 晶 (stars), 光 (light), and 彡 (rays) to show the Three Stars; one reading takes 光 as a kneeling person looking up.

Open 参 →

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

  • 耂耂lǎoan old man with long hair, bent over
  • 丂丂kǎoa walking cane

In 考, the upper 耂 is an old man with long hair, bent over, and the lower 丂 is a walking cane.

Open 考 →

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
者zhě書shū
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.

Open 书 →

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