旧闻 (jiù wén) — past events; old news; historical matters | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

旧闻 means 'old news' — events or reports from the past, usually of historical interest. Compare 新闻 (current news) and 旧事 (past personal matters); 旧闻 leans toward reported, often public, events.

noun

past eventsold newshistorical matters

Examples

旧闻。
Zhè xiē jiù wén yǐ jīng hěn shǎo yǒu rén jì de le.
These old events are already rarely remembered.
旧闻。
Jì zhě bào dào de què shì yí duàn jiù wén.
What the journalist reported was actually an old piece of news.
旧闻。
Zhè běn shū shōu jí le hěn duō lì shǐ shàng de jiù wén.
This book collects many historical past events.

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 means old, and 闻 means news; together they refer to past events or old news.

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 聞; 闻 is its simplified writing.

門耳聞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

門

門mén聞wén

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

In the traditional form 聞, 門 supplies the sound and 耳 is an ear; this explanation is about 聞, not the simplified 闻.

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