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誓言 (shì yán) — oath, pledge

Definition

noun
oathpledge

Examples

  • 誓言。
    Tā lì xià le zhuāng yán de shì yán.
    He made a solemn oath.
  • 誓言。
    Wǒ men bì xū zūn shǒu shì yán.
    We must keep our pledge.
  • 誓言。
    Tā wéi bèi le zì jǐ de shì yán.
    She broke her own oath.

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.

誓shìoath
言yánwords

誓 ('oath') and 言 ('words') combine to mean oath words.

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
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
折
折zhé誓shì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

誓 is built from 言, meaning speech, and 折, which provides the sound. The speech part shows it is about spoken words, such as a vow.

Open 誓 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsCommunication & Speech

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