武艺 (wǔ yì) — martial arts skill; martial arts prowess

Definition

noun
martial arts skillmartial arts prowess

Examples

  • ,武艺。
    Tā cóng xiǎo xí wǔ, wǔ yì fēi cháng gāo qiáng.
    He has practiced martial arts since childhood, and his skill is very high.
  • 武艺。
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng zhǎn shì le chū sè de wǔ yì.
    He displayed outstanding martial arts skills in the competition.
  • 武艺。
    Xué xí wǔ yì xū yào chí zhī yǐ héng de nǔ lì.
    Learning martial arts skills requires persistent effort.

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.

武wǔmartial
艺yìskill

The senses of 武 and 艺 combine to name skill in martial arts.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

武 puts 戈 (dagger-axe) above 止 (foot/to walk), showing an army going on an expedition.

Open 武 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
乙
乙yǐ艺yì
Same sound today

In 艺, the top 艹 points to plants, and the lower 乙 gives the sound.

Open 艺 →

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