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告示 (gào shi) — public notice, announcement

Definition

告示 is a written notice posted publicly for a specific audience. Less official than 公告 (which is government/institutional) and less classified-ad than 启事.

noun
public noticeannouncement
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 告示。
    Xué xiào zài mén kǒu tiē le yì zhāng gào shi.
    The school posted a notice at the gate.
  • 告示。
    Zhèng fǔ fā bù le guān yú xīn zhèng cè de gào shi.
    The government issued an announcement about the new policy.
  • 告示。
    Qǐng zǐ xì kàn qiáng shàng de gào shi.
    Please carefully look at the notice on the wall.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

告gàotell
示shìshow

告 and 示 both convey telling and showing, giving the sense of a public notice.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

示 began as a drawing of an altar. Extra strokes were added to keep it distinct from unrelated old forms.

Open 示 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Mail & Messaging

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