抽象派 (chōu xiàng pā) — school of abstract art; abstract art movement

Definition

A school/movement of abstract art (e.g. abstract expressionism), as opposed to 具象 or 写实 styles that depict recognizable reality. The 学/派 here marks it as an art movement or school of thought.

noun
school of abstract artabstract art movement

Examples

  • 抽象派，。
    Zhè fú huà shǔ yú chōu xiàng pā, sè cǎi hé xíng zhuàng dōu hěn zì yóu.
    This painting belongs to the abstract school — the colors and shapes are very free.
  • 抽象派。
    Tā yán jiū le èr shí shì jì chū de ōu zhōu chōu xiàng pā.
    He studied the European abstract art movement of the early 20th century.
  • 抽象派，。
    chōu xiàng pā Qiáng diào qíng gǎn biǎo dá, ér fēi zài xiàn xiàn shí.
    Abstract expressionism emphasizes emotional expression rather than reproducing reality.

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.

抽象abstract
抽chōuextract象xiàngimage
动宾Verb + object
派pàischool

The school is named for its abstract character: 抽象 'abstract' and 派 'school'.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
由
由yóu抽chōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 is the hand form, written in full as 手, and the right part 由 provides the sound.

Open 抽 →

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 →

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
水水shuǐwater; river
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

Open 派 →

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