真迹 (zhēn jì) — authentic work (of painting or calligraphy), or…

Definition

真迹 refers to the authentic original of a painting or calligraphy by the artist himself — the opposite of a copy (摹本) or imitation (赝品).

noun

authentic work (of painting or calligraphy)original piece by the artist

Easily confused

真迹，。
Zhè fú huà shì zhāng dà qiān de zhēn jì, jià zhí lián chéng.
This painting is an authentic work by Zhang Daqian, worth a fortune.
真迹。
Bó wù guǎn zhǎn chū le jǐ fú sòng dài shū fǎ jiā de zhēn jì.
The museum displayed several authentic calligraphy pieces from Song dynasty masters.
真迹。
Zhuān jiā zhèng zài jiàn dìng zhè fú zì shì bu shì zhēn jì.
Experts are authenticating whether this calligraphy scroll is genuine.

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.

真zhēnauthentic

真 (authentic) + 迹 (traces of brushwork): an artist's original work.

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

貝貝bèicowrie; shell

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠂈

𠂈𠂈真zhēn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

真 pairs 貝 (cowrie shell, used for the meaning) with 𠂈, which gave the sound and originally drew a headlong fall.

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

辶Written in full as辵chuòmove

Sound part声符shēngfú

朿

朿cì迹jì

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迹 pairs 辶, a movement part, with 亦, a sound part; an older form used 朿.