旧书 (jiù shū) — secondhand book, used book; classical works, an… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

secondhand bookused bookclassical worksancient texts

Measure word · 本

Examples

旧书。
Wǒ zài shū diàn mǎi le yì běn jiù shū.
I bought a secondhand book at the bookstore.
旧书。
Zhè xiē jiù shū dōu shì gǔ dài de shū.
These classical works are all ancient books.
旧书，。
Tā xǐ huan shōu jí jiù shū, tè bié shì lǎo shū.
He likes to collect secondhand books, especially old books.

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.

旧jiùold or used

旧 means old or used, and 书 means book, so it names a used book or old text.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 舊; 旧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雈雈huánowl

Sound part声符shēngfú

臼

臼jiù舊jiù

Same sound today

The traditional form of 旧 is 舊, which shows 雈, an owl, above 臼, which gives the sound.

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 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

聿聿yùwriting brush

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

者zhě書shū

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

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Reading & Writing

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