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荧屏 (yíng píng) — TV screen, television screen; (literal) fluorescent screen

Definition

noun
TV screentelevision screen(literal) fluorescent screen

Examples

  • 荧屏。
    Tā xǐ huan zài yíng píng shàng kàn diàn yǐng.
    She likes watching movies on the TV screen.
  • 荧屏。
    yíng píng De liàng dù kě yǐ tiáo jié.
    The brightness of the screen can be adjusted.
  • 荧屏。
    Zhè wèi yǎn yuán shǒu cì dēng shàng yíng píng.
    This actor appeared on the small screen for the first time.

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.

荧yíngfluorescent
屏píngscreen

荧 suggests fluorescent glow and 屏 is a screen, so 荧屏 is a glowing screen.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 熒; 荧 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 熒 comes from an older picture of two crossed torches giving fire light; the simplified 荧 is a later shorthand.

Open 荧 →

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
并
并bìng屏bǐng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屏 pairs 尸 with 并, which supplies the sound.

Open 屏 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6Media & News

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