国宴 (guó yàn) — state banquet

Definition

noun
state banquet
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 国宴。
    Zhè cì guó yàn yāo qǐng le gè guó lǐng dǎo rén.
    This state banquet invited leaders from various countries.
  • 国宴。
    guó yàn De cài pǐn fēi cháng jīng zhì.
    The dishes at the state banquet are very exquisite.
  • 国宴，。
    Tā dì yī cì cān jiā guó yàn, gǎn dào shí fēn róng xìng.
    He attended a state banquet for the first time and felt very honored.

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.

国guócountry
宴yànbanquet

国 means state and 宴 means banquet; together they refer to a formal banquet for state occasions.

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 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
妟
妟yàn宴
Same sound today

宴 has 宀, a roof, above 妟, which shows a woman and the sun. 妟 also supplies the sound, and the whole shape pictures a woman under a roof with sunlight.

Open 宴 →

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