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问号 (wèn hào) — question mark (the punctuation ?); uncertainty, unknown factor, unsolved problem

Definition

Two senses: literally the punctuation '?', and figuratively an uncertainty or unresolved problem. The figurative sense is what gives this word its weight at HSK 7.

noun
question mark (the punctuation ?)uncertaintyunknown factorunsolved problem
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 问号。
    Zhè jù huà de jié wěi yīng gāi jiā yí gè wèn hào.
    This sentence should end with a question mark.
  • ？问号。
    Tā de jì huà néng chéng gōng ma? wǒ xīn zhōng huà le yí gè dà de wèn hào.
    Can his plan succeed? I have a big question mark in my mind.
  • 问号。
    Zhè jiàn shì hái yǒu hěn duō wèn hào méi jiě jué.
    There are still many question marks to resolve in this matter.

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.

问wènquestion
号hàomark; sign

问 gives the sense of a question, and 号 is a mark, so the word means question mark.

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 問; 问 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén問wèn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 問 combines 口 (mouth) with 門, which gives the sound; the simplified 问 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 问 →

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

  • 口口kǒumouth
  • 丂丂kǎoexhaled air; a tiger's cry

The shape 号 comes from 口, a mouth, and 丂, exhaled air or a tiger's cry.

Open 号 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsReading & Writing

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