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连环画 (lián huán huà) — picture-story book (a traditional Chinese comic book format)

Definition

A traditional Chinese picture-story book — sequential illustrations with text telling a story, like an early comic book format. Usually measured with 本 and collected for nostalgia.

noun
picture-story book (a traditional Chinese comic book format)
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 连环画，。
    Xiǎo shí hou wǒ hěn xǐ huan kàn lián huán huà, měi yí yè dōu yǒu hǎo kàn de tú huà.
    When I was young, I loved reading picture-story books; every page had beautiful pictures.
  • 连环画，。
    Zhè xiē lǎo lián huán huà xiàn zài yǐ jīng hěn nán mǎi dào le, chéng le shōu cáng pǐn.
    These old picture-story books are hard to buy now and have become collectibles.
  • 连环画，。
    lián huán huà Shì zhōng guó tè yǒu de yì zhǒng yì shù xíng shì, yòng tú huà hé wén zì jiǎng gù shi.
    Lianhuanhua is a unique Chinese art form that uses pictures and text to tell stories.

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.

连环linked rings
连liánlinked环huánring
偏正Modifier + head
画huàpicture

The idea of 连环 as linked rings combines with 画 as picture to mean a story in connected pictures.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 連; 连 is its simplified writing.

  • 辶辵chuòto walk
  • 車車jūchariot

The traditional form 連 joins 辶 (walk) and 車 (chariot) to show a man-drawn carriage; this note is about 連, not the simplified 连.

Open 连 →

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 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng環huán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 环 →

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 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →
Appears in
Art & Fine ArtsLiterature & Poetry

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