相像 (xiāng xiàng) — similar, alike; to resemble one another | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A literary/书面 word for 'similar, alike,' often used in writing or formal speech about appearance or style. More vivid than 相似, more literary than 一样.

adjective

similaraliketo resemble one another

Examples

相像。
Tā men jiě mèi liǎ cháng dé hěn xiāng xiàng.
The two sisters look very much alike.
相像。
Zhè liǎng fú huà de fēng gé fēi cháng xiāng xiàng.
The styles of these two paintings are very similar.
，相像。
Yǒu shí lián lǎo shī dōu fēn bù qīng tā men, yīn wèi tài xiāng xiàng le.
Sometimes even the teacher can't tell them apart because they're so similar.

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xiāngmutually

像xiàngresemble

相像 combines 相 (mutually) and 像 (resemble) to describe things alike.

Characters in this word

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

木目相

木木mùtree
目目mùeye

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

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻象像

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

象

Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

Appears in

Comparison & Degree

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