周刊 (zhōu kān) — weekly publication, weekly magazine

Definition

noun

weekly publicationweekly magazine

Measure word · 本

周刊，。
Wǒ dìng yuè le zhōu kān, měi qī dōu huì àn shí shōu dào.
I subscribe to the weekly, and I receive every issue on time.
周刊。
Zhè běn zhōu kān zhǔ yào bào dào kē jì xīn wén.
This weekly mainly covers tech news.
周刊。
Tā shì yí fèn zhī míng zhōu kān de zhuān lán zuò jiā.
He is a columnist for a well-known weekly.

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.

刊kānpublication

周 names the weekly interval and 刊 names a publication, together meaning a weekly publication.

Characters in this word

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

The oldest form of 周 drew a jade artifact with carved patterns. It was later borrowed for a place name, so an extra mark was added to distinguish it.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刀刀dāoknife

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刊 uses 干 to show its sound and 刀, a knife, to show its meaning.

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