引子 (yǐn zi) — (theater, music) opening lines or introductory music; prologue; (writing) introductory remarks; preface; lead-in; (traditional Chinese medicine) added dose that guides a formula to a target area

Definition

Literary/cultural word for an opening — a prologue, a preface's lead-in, or a guiding ingredient in a TCM formula. More formal than a plain 介绍.

noun
(theater, music) opening lines or introductory musicprologue(writing) introductory remarksprefacelead-in(traditional Chinese medicine) added dose that guides a formula to a target area

Examples

  • 引子。
    Zhè duàn yǐn zi shì zhěng bù xì zuì jīng cǎi de bù fen.
    This opening piece is the most exciting part of the whole play.
  • 引子。
    Tā zài shū de yǐn zi lǐ jiǎn dān jiè shào le xiě zuò bèi jǐng.
    In the introduction of the book, he briefly described the background of writing.
  • 引子。
    Zhōng yī kāi yào shí cháng yòng shēng jiāng zuò yǐn zi.
    When prescribing medicine, traditional Chinese doctors often use ginger as a guiding ingredient.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

引yǐnlead
子zǐending

“引” means lead and “子” gives a familiar thing-like form, so the word names an introductory lead-in.

Characters in this word

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

  • 弓弓gōngbow
  • 丿丿piěindicatory stroke

引 is made from 弓, a bow, and 丿, a short slant stroke added at the place where the string is pulled, marking the action of drawing or pulling.

Open 引 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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