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祝酒词 (zhù jiǔ cí) — toast (the spoken words at a banquet)

Definition

祝酒词 is a 'toast' — the actual spoken words delivered at a banquet, not the act of raising a glass. Counted with 段 (e.g., 一段祝酒词).

noun
toast (the spoken words at a banquet)
Measure word · 段

Examples

  • ，祝酒词。
    Zài hūn lǐ shàng, xīn láng fā biǎo le gǎn rén de zhù jiǔ cí.
    At the wedding, the groom delivered a touching toast.
  • 祝酒词。
    Tā de zhù jiǔ cí ràng zài chǎng de suǒ yǒu rén dōu hěn gǎn dòng.
    His toast moved everyone present.
  • ，祝酒词。
    Yàn huì zhèng shì kāi shǐ qián, zhǔ rén xiān shuō le jǐ jù zhù jiǔ cí.
    Before the banquet officially started, the host said a few toasts.

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.

祝酒propose a toast
祝zhùwish/propose酒jiǔwine
动宾Verb + object
词cíwords

祝酒 means proposing a toast, and 词 means spoken words.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

祝 shows a kneeling person with an open mouth beside an altar.

Open 祝 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →
Appears in
Dining & Restaurants

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