舞艺 (wǔ yì) — dancing skill

Definition

noun
dancing skill
Easily confused

Examples

  • 舞艺，。
    Tā de wǔ yì fēi cháng chū sè, dà jiā dōu kàn dé rù mí.
    Her dancing skill is outstanding; everyone was mesmerized.
  • ，舞艺。
    Tā xué le sān nián, wǔ yì jìn bù le hěn duō.
    He studied for three years, and his dancing skill improved a lot.
  • 舞艺。
    Zhè wèi wǔ zhě de wǔ yì lìng rén zàn tàn.
    This dancer's skill is admirable.

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.

舞wǔdance
艺yìskill

舞 describes the kind of 艺, the skill of dancing.

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
舛舛chuǎnsteps, feet in convergent direction
Sound part声符shēngfú
無
無wú舞wǔ
Same sound today

舞 combines 舛, showing feet in converging steps, with 無 above. 無 gave the sound and also preserved its older meaning of dancing, so the shape points to dancing.

Open 舞 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
乙
乙yǐ艺yì
Same sound today

In 艺, the top 艹 points to plants, and the lower 乙 gives the sound.

Open 艺 →

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