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形象 (xíng xiàng) — (noun) image, appearance, public image; (adjective) vivid, graphic

Definition

At HSK 5, 形象 covers both senses: noun 'image, public image' (品牌/公众形象) and adjective 'vivid' (比 生动 more about how clearly something is pictured or portrayed). Don't confuse with 像 ('resemble') or 外形 (just outer shape).

noun
imageappearancepublic image
adjective
vividgraphic
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 形象。
    Tā hěn zhù yì zì jǐ de gōng zhòng xíng xiàng.
    He pays a lot of attention to his public image.
  • 形象。
    Zhè ge gōng sī de pǐn pái xíng xiàng fēi cháng hǎo.
    This company's brand image is very good.
  • 形象，。
    Tā de bǐ yù fēi cháng xíng xiàng, yì tīng jiù dǒng le.
    His metaphor is very vivid — I understood it as soon as I heard it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

形xíngform
象xiàngimage

It joins 形, the form, with 象, the appearance, to give a vivid image or figure.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
井
井jǐng形xíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

Open 形 →

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

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

Open 象 →
Appears in
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