诗篇 (shī piān) — poem; poetry; (figurative) inspiring story | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

诗篇 (shīpiān) literally means 'a piece of poetry' — a single poem, or poetry as a body of work, with a more literary feel than 诗. In figurative use it can mean a moving, inspiring story (as in example 3, where someone's life is called a 诗篇).

noun

poempoetry(figurative) inspiring story

Measure word · 首

Examples

诗篇。
Tā xiě le yì shǒu guān yú gù xiāng de shī piān.
He wrote a poem about his hometown.
诗篇。
Zhè bù zuò pǐn bèi yù wéi xiàn dài shī piān de jīng diǎn.
This work is praised as a classic of modern poetry.
诗篇。
Tā de rén shēng shì yí bù gǎn rén de shī piān.
Her life is a touching inspiring story.

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.

诗, 'poem', specifies the kind of 篇, 'piece', so a poem is meant.

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 詩; 诗 is its simplified writing.

言寺詩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

寺sì詩shī

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詩 combines 言 (speech) with 寺 as a sound part, because poetry is a kind of speech; the simplified 诗 is a later abbreviation.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

竹扁篇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

扁

扁biǎn篇piān

Same sound today

篇 combines 竹 with 扁: 竹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 扁 is the part used for the sound.

Appears in

Literature & Poetry

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