现今 (xiàn jīn) — nowadays; these days | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A written, formal equivalent of 现在 ('nowadays, these days'), more common in essays, news, and academic prose than in everyday speech.

noun

nowadaysthese days

Examples

现今。
xiàn jīn De shè huì biàn huà fēi cháng kuài.
Society changes very fast nowadays.
现今。
xiàn jīn Hěn duō nián qīng rén xuǎn zé qù dà chéng shì gōng zuò.
Nowadays many young people choose to work in big cities.
现今。
xiàn jīn De kē jì fā zhǎn ràng shēng huó gèng jiā biàn lì.
The technological development nowadays makes life more convenient.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

现xiànpresent

现 and 今 both point to the present, together meaning nowadays.

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 現; 现 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

見

見jiàn現

Same sound today

The traditional form 現 pairs 玉 (jade) with 見 as a sound part; the simplified 现 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One explanation sees the shape as an upside-down mouth with a line below it, giving the idea of not speaking.

Appears in

Time (Abstract)

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