旧约 (jiù yuē) — Old Testament | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Old Testament

Examples

旧约。
Tā jīng cháng yuè dú jiù yuē.
He often reads the Old Testament.
旧约。
jiù yuē Zhōng yǒu hěn duō zhòng yào de rén wù.
There are many important figures in the Old Testament.
旧约。
Lǎo shī ràng wǒ men bǐ jiào jiù yuē hé xīn yuē de bù tóng.
The teacher asked us to compare the differences between the Old and New Testaments.

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.

约yuēcovenant

旧 means old and 约 means covenant: the old covenant.

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 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìrope

Sound part声符shēngfú

勺

勺sháo約yuē

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

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Religion & Belief

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