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熟识 (shú shi) — to know well, to be familiar with

Definition

Stronger and more formal than 认识: it means to know someone or something through long familiarity, not just acquaintance. Often used in writing for deep, well-established knowledge.

verb
to know wellto be familiar with

Examples

  • 熟识。
    Wǒ duì zhè tiáo lù hěn shú shi.
    I know this road very well.
  • 熟识。
    Tā shì wǒ zuì shú shi de péng you zhī yī.
    He is one of my closest friends.
  • 熟识？
    Nǐ shú shi zhè wèi zuò jiā ma?
    Are you familiar with this writer?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

熟shúfamiliar
识shíknow

熟 means familiar and 识 means know, so the word is to know someone well.

Characters in this word

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

熟 combines 孰 (cooked; ripe) with 灬 (fire), showing food cooked with fire.

Open 熟 →

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 識; 识 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí識zhì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 識 pairs 言 (say) with 戠 as a sound part; the simplified 识 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 识 →
Appears in
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