日语 (Rì yǔ) — Japanese language | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Japanese language

Measure word · 种

日语。
Tā zhèng zài xué Rì yǔ.
She is currently learning Japanese.
日语。
Wǒ de Rì yǔ shuō dé bú tài hǎo.
My Japanese is not very good.
日语。
Zhè piān Rì yǔ wén zhāng hěn nán dǒng.
This Japanese article is hard to understand.

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.

语yǔlanguage

'日' names Japan and '语' means language, so the word denotes the Japanese language.

Characters in this word

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

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

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 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

言吾語

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

吾

Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Appears in