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疑问 (yí wèn) — question; doubt; uncertainty

Definition

疑问 focuses on the feeling of doubt or uncertainty, as in 疑问句 ('interrogative sentence'). Compare 问题 (a concrete question or problem) and 疑惑 (a puzzled feeling).

noun
questiondoubtuncertainty

Examples

  • 疑问？
    Nǐ duì zhè ge jì huà hái yǒu yí wèn ma?
    Do you still have questions about this plan?
  • ，疑问。
    Duì yú tā de shuō fǎ, wǒ réng rán yǒu yí wèn.
    I still have doubts about his statement.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge jù zi shì yí wèn jù, bú shì chén shù jù.
    This sentence is an interrogative sentence, not a declarative one.

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yídoubt
问wènquestion

A 问 that arises from 疑.

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 →
Appears in
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