趣闻 (qù wén) — interesting news or anecdote

Definition

noun

interesting news or anecdote

趣闻。
Tā fēn xiǎng le yì zé guān yú lǚ xíng de qù wén.
He shared an interesting travel anecdote.
趣闻。
Wǎng shàng yǒu hěn duō guān yú míng xīng de qù wén.
There are many interesting news stories about celebrities online.
趣闻。
Zhè běn shū jì lù le xǔ duō lì shǐ qù wén.
This book records many historical anecdotes.

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.

趣qùinteresting

趣 means interesting, and 闻 means news, so 趣闻 refers to interesting news or anecdotes.

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.

走取趣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

取

Same sound today

趣 has 走, showing walking or hurrying, and 取, which gives the sound; the shape points to moving toward something.

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.

門耳聞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Appears in