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起色 (qǐ sè) — improvement (in a situation, health, business, etc.)

Definition

起色 (qǐsè) is a fixed noun meaning a sign of improvement or recovery in a bad situation (illness, business, performance). It almost always follows 有 or 没有 — say 有了起色 ('there's improvement'), not *发生起色.

noun
improvement (in a situation, health, business, etc.)

Examples

  • 起色。
    Tā de shēng yì zuì jìn yǒu le qǐ sè.
    His business has shown improvement recently.
  • ，起色。
    Jīng guò zhì liáo, bìng rén de shēn tǐ yǒu le qǐ sè.
    After treatment, the patient's condition has improved.
  • 起色。
    Gōng sī de jīng jì qǐ sè ràng lǎo bǎn hěn gāo xìng.
    The company's economic improvement made the boss very happy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

起qǐarise
色sèsign/appearance

起 means arise or appear and 色 means a sign or complexion, so 起色 is the appearance of improvement.

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Open 色 →
Appears in
Change & Process

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