节选 (jié xuǎn) — to excerpt, to select extracts (from a longer work)

Definition

verb
to excerptto select extracts (from a longer work)

Examples

  • 节选。
    Wǒ men cóng nà běn xiǎo shuō zhōng jié xuǎn le zuì zhòng yào de jǐ yè.
    We excerpted the most important pages from that novel.
  • 节选。
    Tā jié xuǎn le yì piān wén zhāng de jīng cǎi bù fen.
    He excerpted the brilliant parts of an article.
  • 节选。
    Zhè běn shū jié xuǎn le zuò zhě de wǔ piān duǎn wén.
    This book excerpts five short essays by the author.

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.

节jiésection
选xuǎnselect

节 as section and 选 as select combine to mean choosing parts from a longer 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 節; 节 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺮Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
即
即jí節jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 節 pairs ⺮ (bamboo) with 即, which gives the sound; the bamboo part points to a node of bamboo. The simplified 节 is a later abbreviation.

Open 节 →

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 選; 选 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
巽
巽xùn選xuǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 選 combines 止 with 巽, which gives the sound xùn; its sense of choosing is explained as rejecting or sending someone back. Simplified 选 is a shorthand.

Open 选 →

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