意象 (yì xiàng) — (noun) artistic image, imagery (used in literature and art to convey meaning or emotion); (noun) concept, idea (in a broader, cognitive sense)

Definition

意象 refers to a mental or artistic 'image' that carries symbolic meaning — in literature it is a recurring sensory image (moon, willow) used to convey emotion, broader than a plain image (形象) or abstract idea (概念).

noun
artistic imageimagery (used in literature and art to convey meaning or emotion)conceptidea (in a broader, cognitive sense)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 意象。
    Zhè shǒu shī lǐ de yuè liang yì xiàng jì tuō le shī rén duì gù xiāng de sī niàn.
    The moon image in this poem embodies the poet's longing for his hometown.
  • 意象。
    Xīn lǐ xué jiā bǎ zhè zhǒng jì yì chēng wéi yì zhǒng xīn lǐ yì xiàng.
    Psychologists call this kind of memory a mental image.
  • 意象。
    Tā tí chū de zhè ge yì xiàng hěn kuài chéng wéi gōng sī de xīn lǐ niàn.
    The concept he proposed quickly became the company's new philosophy.

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.

意yìmeaning
象xiàngimage

意 points to meaning or idea, and 象 to image; together they describe an image that carries meaning.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

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 →

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