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浪漫史 (làng màn shǐ) — romance, love story

Definition

A literary word for a 'romance / love story' (real-life or fictional), as in the plot of a novel or one's own romantic history. 浪漫 on its own refers to the feeling or atmosphere; 浪漫史 names the story itself.

noun
romancelove story

Examples

  • 浪漫史。
    Tā men de làng màn shǐ chōng mǎn le xì jù xìng.
    Their romance is full of drama.
  • 浪漫史。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le yí duàn dòng rén de làng màn shǐ.
    This novel describes a touching love story.
  • 浪漫史。
    Tā bǎ zì jǐ de làng màn shǐ xiě chéng le yì běn shū.
    She wrote her own romance into a book.

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.

浪漫
浪làng漫màn
史shǐstory

'浪漫' (romance) plus '史' (story) names a love story.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng浪làng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

浪 pairs 水 (water) with 良, which supplies the sound. The water part points to its meaning of waves.

Open 浪 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
曼
曼màn漫
Same sound today

漫 uses 氵 (water) and 曼 for the sound; 曼 also means “vast, extended,” showing water spread out or overflowing.

Open 漫 →

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

The old drawing showed someone holding a flag-like or writing tool, indicating the act of recording events; the exact inner shape is unclear.

Open 史 →
Appears in
Romance & Marriage

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