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插画 (chā huà) — (noun) illustration (in a book, magazine, etc.); (verb) to illustrate; to insert illustrations

Definition

A borrowed-English-style word for 'illustration' — a picture inserted into a book, magazine, or article. As a verb, 插画 means to illustrate or add such pictures to a publication.

noun
illustration (in a book, magazine, etc.)
verb
to illustrateto insert illustrations
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 插画。
    Zhè běn xiǎo shuō lǐ de chā huà fēi cháng jīng měi.
    The illustrations in this novel are very exquisite.
  • 插画。
    Tā zhèng zài gěi nà běn zá zhì chā huà.
    He is illustrating that magazine.
  • 。
    Tā gěi zhè běn shū chā le jǐ fú piào liang de huà.
    He inserted several beautiful pictures into this book.

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.

插chāinsert
画huàpicture

An illustration is a picture inserted into text, so “插” and “画” give “insert” and “picture.”

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 插 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →
Appears in
Art & Fine Arts

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