小说 (xiǎo shuō) — novel; fiction | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A noun meaning 'novel' or 'fiction' — a long written story, usually a book (一本/部). The adjectives 新颖 and 新奇 describe things as 'novel' in the sense of new and original; 小说 is the thing itself.

noun

novelfiction

Measure word · 本, 部

Examples

小说。
Wǒ zuì jìn kàn le yì běn hěn yǒu qù de xiǎo shuō.
I recently read a very interesting novel.
小说。
Zhè bù xiǎo shuō jiǎng le liǎng gè nián qīng rén de gù shi.
This novel tells the story of two young people.
小说。
Tā xǐ huan kàn lì shǐ xiǎo shuō.
He likes reading historical fiction.

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.

小说 is fiction, where 小 marks trivial and 说 marks talk.

Characters in this word

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

八八bāto divide; to separate
丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

言兌說

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

兌

兌duì說shuō

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

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Grammar

Full explanation →

Appears in

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