古书 (gǔ shū) — ancient books; ancient texts

Definition

noun
ancient booksancient texts
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 古书。
    Tā xǐ huan shōu cáng gǔ shū.
    He likes to collect ancient books.
  • 古书。
    Zhè běn gǔ shū jì zǎi le hěn duō lì shǐ gù shi.
    This ancient book records many historical stories.
  • 古书。
    Yán jiū gǔ shū xū yào dǒng de gǔ wén.
    Studying ancient books requires understanding classical Chinese.

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.

古gǔancient
书shūbook

古 means ancient and 书 means book, so 古书 refers to books from earlier times.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

Open 古 →

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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