新馆 (xīn guǎn) — new building/hall/venue (e.g., a new library, museum, or exhibition hall)

Definition

noun
new building/hall/venue (e.g., a new library, museum, or exhibition hall)

Examples

  • 新馆。
    Zhōu mò wǒ men qù xīn guǎn cān guān.
    We'll visit the new building this weekend.
  • 新馆。
    xīn guǎn Xià ge yuè zhèng shì duì wài kāi fàng.
    The new hall will officially open to the public next month.
  • 新馆。
    Zhè ge xīn guǎn lǐ yǒu hěn duō zhēn guì de wén wù.
    There are many precious artifacts in this new museum.

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.

新xīnnew
馆guǎnhall

新 means new and 馆 means a hall or building, so 新馆 names a newly built hall.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn新xīn
Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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 館; 馆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān館guǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 館 is made of 食, written as 飠 on the left, and 官 on the right; 官 provides the sound. The simplified 馆 is a later shorthand.

Open 馆 →

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