疑问句 (yí wèn jù) — interrogative sentence

Definition

noun
interrogative sentence

Examples

  • 疑问句。
    Zhè shì yì bān yí wèn jù.
    This is a general interrogative sentence.
  • 疑问句。
    Tā xiě le yì piān guān yú yí wèn jù de wén zhāng.
    He wrote an article about interrogative sentences.
  • 疑问句。
    Lǎo shī jiě shì le yí wèn jù de yòng fǎ.
    The teacher explained the usage of interrogative sentences.

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.

疑问question
疑yídoubt问wènask
联合Side by side
句jùsentence

疑 and 问 both relate to questioning, and 句 means sentence.

Characters in this word

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

  • 大大dàstanding human figure
  • 夂夂zhǐtilted head with open mouth
  • 丨丨gǔncane

疑 depicts a standing figure 大 with a tilted, open-mouthed head 夂 and a cane 丨, a confused person looking around for direction.

Open 疑 →

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 問; 问 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén問wèn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 問 combines 口 (mouth) with 門, which gives the sound; the simplified 问 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 问 →

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
丩丩jiūto entangle
Sound part声符shēngfú
口
口kǒu句jù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

句 pairs 丩, originally two entangled ropes and giving a sense of entangling, with 口 as the sound part.

Open 句 →

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