讣闻 (fù wén) — obituary (notice), death announcement

Definition

讣闻 is a written notice announcing someone's death, published in newspapers or posted publicly. It is more formal than the everyday word 悼词, which refers specifically to a eulogy speech.

noun
obituary (notice)death announcement
Measure word · 份

Examples

  • 讣闻。
    Zhè zé fù wén kān dēng zài zuó tiān de bào zhǐ shàng.
    This obituary was published in yesterday's newspaper.
  • 讣闻。
    Tā xiě le yì piān fù wén dào niàn tā de lǎo shī.
    He wrote an obituary mourning his teacher.
  • 讣闻。
    fù wén Zhōng tí dào le zhuī dào huì de shí jiān hé dì diǎn.
    The obituary mentioned the time and place of the memorial service.

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.

讣fùobituary
闻wénnews

讣 marks news of a death; 闻 is information, giving an obituary notice.

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 訃; 讣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
卜
卜bǔ訃fù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 訃 pairs 言 (speech) with 卜 for its sound; this describes 訃, not the simplified 讣.

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 聞; 闻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén聞wén
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 聞, 門 supplies the sound and 耳 is an ear; this explanation is about 聞, not the simplified 闻.

Open 闻 →

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