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异样 (yì yàng) — difference; variation; abnormality; unusualness

Definition

Noun covering both 'something different' and 'something strange/unusual' — a feel of oddness, as in feeling 异样 about a situation. More about atmosphere and perception than concrete difference.

noun
differencevariationabnormalityunusualness

Examples

  • 异样。
    Tā de tài dù ràng wǒ gǎn dào yì sī yì yàng.
    His attitude made me feel a hint of strangeness.
  • 异样。
    Zhè zhǒng yì yàng de xiāng wèi ràng rén hěn bù shū fu.
    This unusual smell makes people very uncomfortable.
  • 异样。
    Tā zhù yì dào fáng jiān lǐ de yì yàng qì fen.
    She noticed the unusual atmosphere in the room.

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.

异yìdifferent
样yàngappearance

“异” gives difference or strangeness, and “样” gives appearance or kind, so the sense is something different or unusual.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 異; 异 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 異 depicts a person with a mask 田 over the face, so the face looks different. The simplified 异 is a later shorthand.

Open 异 →

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 樣; 样 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
羕
羕yàng樣yàng
Same sound today

For 样, the traditional form 樣 pairs 木 (wood) with 羕 as a sound part.

Open 样 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsGood & Bad

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