词藻 (cí zǎo) — rhetoric; flowery language; ornate diction

Definition

A literary/literary-criticism term for ornate, flowery diction — the decorative choice of words in writing. Often carries a faintly negative tone when overused.

noun
rhetoricflowery languageornate diction
Easily confused

Examples

  • 词藻，。
    Tā de wén zhāng suī rán yòng le hěn duō cí zǎo, dàn nèi róng kōng dòng.
    Although his article uses a lot of flowery language, the content is hollow.
  • 词藻，。
    Zhè piān xiǎo shuō cí zǎo huá lì, dú qǐ lái hěn yǒu měi gǎn.
    This novel has ornate diction and reads beautifully.
  • 词藻，。
    Xiě shī bú bì guò fèn zhuī qiú cí zǎo, zhēn qíng shí gǎn gèng zhòng yào.
    When writing poetry, you don't need to over-pursue rhetoric; genuine feeling is more important.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

词cíwords
藻zǎoornament

词 'words' and 藻 'ornament' together denote ornate language.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
澡
澡zǎo藻zǎo
Same sound today

藻 is built from 艹, a grass sign, placed over 澡, which provides the sound zǎo.

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