叙事诗 (xù shì shī) — narrative poem

Definition

A narrative poem (叙事诗, xùshìshī) tells a story with plot and characters, as opposed to 抒情诗 ('lyric poem'), which expresses feelings. English 'ballad' is a subtype of narrative poem.

noun
narrative poem
Measure word · 首

Examples

  • 叙事诗。
    Zhè shǒu xù shì shī jiǎng shù le gǔ dài yīng xióng de gù shi.
    This narrative poem tells the story of an ancient hero.
  • 叙事诗。
    Tā huā le yì nián shí jiān chuàng zuò le yí bù guān yú zhàn zhēng de xù shì shī.
    He spent a year writing a narrative poem about war.
  • 《》叙事诗。
    《Kǒng què dōng nán fēi》 shì zuì zhù míng de zhōng guó gǔ diǎn xù shì shī zhī yī.
    The Peacock Flying Southeast is one of the most famous classical Chinese narrative poems.

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.

叙事tell events
叙xùnarrate事shìevents
动宾Verb + object
诗shīpoem

叙事 “tell events” with 诗 “poem” gives a narrative poem.

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 敘; 叙 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú敘xù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敘 puts 余 on the left, giving the sound yú, and 攵 on the right as the meaningful part; the simplified 叙 is a shorthand.

Open 叙 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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 詩; 诗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì詩shī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詩 combines 言 (speech) with 寺 as a sound part, because poetry is a kind of speech; the simplified 诗 is a later abbreviation.

Open 诗 →

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