字幕 (zì mù) — subtitle, caption | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

字幕 (zìmù) specifically means the text overlay on a film, TV show, or video — subtitles or captions. Unlike 说明, it is not a general 'explanation' or 'instructions', and unlike 标题 it is not a title/heading.

noun

subtitlecaption

Measure word · 行

Examples

，字幕。
Kàn diàn yǐng de shí hou, wǒ xǐ huan dǎ kāi zì mù.
When watching movies, I like to turn on subtitles.
字幕。
Zhè bù jì lù piàn de zhōng wén zì mù fān yì dé hěn zhǔn què.
The Chinese subtitles of this documentary are translated very accurately.
字幕。
Qǐng nǐ wèi shì pín pèi hǎo zì mù zài shàng chuán.
Please add proper subtitles to the video before uploading.

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.

幕mùscreen

字 points to text, and 幕 to a screen, together meaning captions shown on screen.

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.

宀子字

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

子

子zǐ字zì

Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

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

莫巾幕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

巾巾jīncloth

Sound part声符shēngfú

莫

莫mò幕mù

Same sound today

幕 combines 莫 above 巾 (cloth); 莫 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Film & Theater

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.