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相似 (xiāng sì) — similar, alike (resembling but not identical)

Definition

Means 'similar' — resembling but not the same. 相同 is for actual identity; 仿佛 describes how something seems, not real resemblance.

adjective
similaralike (resembling but not identical)

Examples

  • 相似。
    Zhè liǎng gè fāng àn de sī lù hěn xiāng sì.
    These two proposals' design thinking is very similar.
  • 相似。
    Tā men tí chū de jiàn yì fēi cháng xiāng sì.
    The suggestions they made are very similar.
  • 相似。
    Zhè liǎng běn shū de nèi róng yǒu xiāng sì zhī chù.
    These two books have similarities in content.

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.

相xiāngmutual
似sìsimilar

「相」 (mutual) and 「似」 (similar) combine to mean resembling one another.

Characters in this word

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
以
以yǐ似sì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

似 pairs 亻 (human) with 以, which gives the sound.

Open 似 →
Appears in
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