缀 (zhuì) — to sew; to stitch; to compose; to put together (words or sentences); to embellish; to decorate
Definition
Literary verb covering both literal sewing and figurative word/text composition — stitching sentences together as neatly as fabric. Mostly seen in written Chinese; in speech 缝 (sew) and 写 (write) carry the everyday senses.
verb
to sewto stitchto composeto put together (words or sentences)to embellishto decorate
Examples
- 缀。Tā xì xīn de zài qún biān zhuì shàng yì quān huā biān.She carefully sewed a row of lace onto the hem of the skirt.
- ，缀。Zhè piān wén zhāng yòng cí jīng què, qián hòu zhuì hé dé hěn hǎo.This essay uses precise wording and joins the parts together well.
- 缀。Jié rì de jiē dào yòng cǎi dēng hé xiān huā zhuì shì yì xīn.The holiday street was decorated anew with colored lights and fresh flowers.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 綴; 缀 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
叕
叕zhuó綴zhuì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
For 缀, the shape is explained by the traditional form 綴, which combines 糸 (silk) with 叕 as a sound part.
Appears in
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