手抄本 (shǒu chāo běn) — handwritten copy (of a book or document); manuscript

Definition

A 手抄本 is a book or document copied entirely by hand, typically of an older work — broader than 抄本, which is any written copy, and distinct from 孤本 (a unique surviving copy).

noun
handwritten copy (of a book or document)manuscript
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 手抄本。
    Zhè běn shǒu chāo běn shì táng dài de zhēn guì wén wù.
    This handwritten copy is a precious artifact from the Tang Dynasty.
  • 手抄本。
    Tú shū guǎn lǐ shōu cáng le xǔ duō míng qīng shí qī de shǒu chāo běn.
    The library has collected many handwritten copies from the Ming and Qing periods.
  • 手抄本。
    Tā huā le yì zhěng nián cái wán chéng zhè bù shǒu chāo běn.
    It took him a whole year to complete this handwritten copy.

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.

手抄copy by hand
手shǒuhand抄chāocopy
偏正Modifier + head
本běnbook

手 (hand) and 抄 (copy) describe a 本 (book) made by hand.

Characters in this word

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo抄chāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

抄 combines 扌 (hand) with 少, which supplies the sound.

Open 抄 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →

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