词源 (cí yuán) — etymology; the origin of a word

Definition

noun
etymologythe origin of a word

Examples

  • 词源？
    Zhè ge cí de cí yuán shì shén me?
    What is the etymology of this word?
  • 词源。
    Yán jiū hàn zì cí yuán hěn yǒu yì si.
    Studying the etymology of Chinese characters is very interesting.
  • 词源。
    cí yuán Xué shì yǔ yán xué de yí gè fēn zhī.
    Etymology is a branch of linguistics.

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.

词cíword
源yuánsource

词 as word and 源 as source combine to mean the origin of a word.

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
原
原yuán源yuán
Same sound today

源 combines 水 (water) and 原 (origin): 水 points to water, and 原 gives the sound.

Open 源 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.