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盛宴 (shèng yàn) — feast (literal or figurative)

Definition

A grand feast — emphasizes the lavish, impressive scale, often used figuratively for an 'abundance' of something (a feast of knowledge, music). 比 宴会 grander and more literary, and unlike 庆典/盛会 it centers on the meal or sensory abundance itself.

noun
feast (literal or figurative)
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 盛宴。
    Wǒ men cān jiā le yì chǎng shèng dà de shèng yàn.
    We attended a grand feast.
  • 盛宴。
    Zhè běn shū zhēn shì yì chǎng zhī shi de shèng yàn.
    This book is truly a feast of knowledge.
  • 盛宴。
    Zhè chǎng yīn yuè huì shì yì chǎng tīng jué shèng yàn.
    This concert is an auditory feast.

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.

盛shèngabundant
宴yànbanquet

“盛” (abundant) and “宴” (banquet) combine to mean a great feast.

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
皿皿mǐn
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng盛shèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

盛 combines 成 as a sound part with 皿 as a meaning part; the 皿 side points to a vessel, which fits meanings such as hold and fill.

Open 盛 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
妟
妟yàn宴
Same sound today

宴 has 宀, a roof, above 妟, which shows a woman and the sun. 妟 also supplies the sound, and the whole shape pictures a woman under a roof with sunlight.

Open 宴 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Food (General)

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