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措辞 (cuò cí) — (noun) wording, diction, choice of words; (verb) to phrase, to word (something in a particular way)

Definition

Refers to the wording or phrasing of a statement, especially when judged for style or appropriateness (e.g. 措辞得体, 措辞不当). As a verb, it means 'to word/phrase (something)' — used for how language is chosen, not for translation or speech delivery.

noun
wordingdictionchoice of words
verb
to phraseto word (something in a particular way)

Examples

  • 措辞。
    Tā xiě zuò shí hěn jiǎng jiu cuò cí.
    He is very particular about his wording when writing.
  • 措辞。
    Zhè fēng xìn de cuò cí shí fēn dé tǐ.
    The wording of this letter is very appropriate.
  • 措辞，。
    Zhè ge shēng míng cuò cí bú dàng, yǐn qǐ le wù jiě.
    This statement was inappropriately worded and caused misunderstanding.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

措cuòarrange
辞cíwords

The sense of arranging in 措 joins the sense of words in 辞, giving the idea of how something is said.

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
昔
昔xī措cuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 shows a hand, and the right side 昔 gives the sound; together they form 措.

Open 措 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 辞 →
Appears in
Language

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