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艺术家 (yì shù jiā) — artist

Definition

艺术家 refers specifically to a professional practitioner of the fine arts (painting, sculpture, music, etc.), implying recognized skill or stature. The more common everyday word for someone who draws or paints is 画家 or 美术家.

noun
artist
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 艺术家。
    Nà wèi yì shù jiā zhèng zài huà yì fú jù dà de yóu huà.
    That artist is painting a huge oil painting.
  • 艺术家。
    Zhè wèi yì shù jiā de zuò pǐn zài quán qiú dōu hěn shòu huān yíng.
    This artist's works are very popular worldwide.
  • ，艺术家。
    Zhǎn lǎn huì shàng, yì shù jiā men hù xiāng jiāo liú chuàng zuò xīn dé.
    At the exhibition, artists exchanged creative insights with each other.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

艺术art
艺yìskill术shùtechnique
联合Coordinate
家jiāperson

艺术 means art and 家 points to a person who practices it.

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
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 →

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 術; 术 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíngstreet, path
Sound part声符shēngfú
朮
朮zhú術shù
Same sound today

The traditional form 術 has 行 (street, path) beside 朮, which gives the sound; the simplified 术 is a later shorthand.

Open 术 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
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