奇秀 (qí xiù) — uniquely beautiful, strikingly picturesque (of…

Definition

An adjective used almost exclusively for scenery or landscape, emphasizing an unusual and striking kind of beauty. Pairs with 山水 / 风光 / 景色.

adjective

uniquely beautifulstrikingly picturesque (of scenery)

奇秀。
Zhè zuò shān de jǐng sè fēi cháng qí xiù.
The scenery of this mountain is uniquely beautiful.
奇秀。
Guì lín yǐ qí xiù de shān shuǐ wén míng yú shì.
Guilin is world-famous for its strikingly picturesque landscape.
奇秀。
Huà jiā bèi zhè piàn qí xiù de zì rán fēng guāng shēn shēn xī yǐn.
The painter was deeply attracted by this uniquely beautiful natural scenery.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

奇qíextraordinary

The sense of 奇, 'extraordinary', combines with 秀, 'elegant', to describe scenery that is strikingly beautiful.

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.

大可奇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

大大dàbig; great

Sound part声符shēngfú

可

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奇 pairs 大 (big; great) with 可, a sound part.

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

秀 pairs 禾 (rice plant) with 引 (to draw out flowers), showing a rice plant putting out flowers.