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大作家 (dà zuò jiā) — great writer (a famous or highly accomplished author)

Definition

noun
great writer (a famous or highly accomplished author)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 大作家。
    Zhè wèi dà zuò jiā xiě le hěn duō jīng diǎn zuò pǐn.
    This great writer has written many classic works.
  • 大作家。
    dà zuò jiā De bǐ chù zǒng néng dǎ dòng rén xīn.
    A great writer's touch can always move people's hearts.
  • 大作家。
    Tā mèng xiǎng chéng wéi yí wèi míng yáng tiān xià de dà zuò jiā.
    He dreams of becoming a great writer known throughout the world.

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.

大dàgreat
作家writer
作zuòwrite家jiāperson
后缀Suffix

“大” (great) and “作家” (writer) combine to mean a highly accomplished writer.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

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miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
Literature & PoetryProfessions & Jobs

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