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太极 (Tài jí) — (philosophy) the Supreme Ultimate, the ultimate source of all things; (martial arts) Tai Chi (short for 太极拳)

Definition

Literally "the Supreme Ultimate" — in Chinese philosophy the source from which yin and yang arise. In modern usage it usually means the slow martial art (short for 太极拳).

noun
(philosophy) the Supreme Ultimate, the ultimate source of all things(martial arts) Tai Chi (short for 太极拳)

Examples

  • 太极。
    Měi tiān zǎo chén gōng yuán lǐ yǒu hěn duō rén zài dǎ Tài jí.
    Every morning many people are doing Tai Chi in the park.
  • 太极。
    Tài jí Shì lǎo zǐ zhé xué zhōng de yí gè zhòng yào gài niàn.
    The Supreme Ultimate is an important concept in Laozi's philosophy.
  • 太极？。
    Nǐ liàn guò Tài jí ma? wǒ jué de tā duì shēn tǐ hěn hǎo.
    Have you practiced Tai Chi? I think it's good for your health.

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.

太tàigreat
极jíultimate

太 means great and 极 means ultimate, forming the Supreme Ultimate.

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.

太 is a modified form of 大, with an extra dot added to show 'too big'.

Open 太 →

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
木木mùtree, wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí极jí
Same sound today

极 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 及, which provides the sound.

Open 极 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Chinese Culture & Customs

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