青春期 (qīng chūn qī) — adolescence; puberty | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

青春期 (qīngchūnqī) names the life stage of adolescence/puberty. Distinct from 青春 (youthfulness as a quality); 青年 refers to young people, not the period itself.

noun

adolescencepuberty

Examples

青春期。
qīng chūn qī Huì fā shēng hěn duō shēn tǐ biàn huà.
Many physical changes occur during adolescence.
青春期。
Xué xiào yīng gāi wèi qīng chūn qī xué shēng tí gōng zhǐ dǎo.
Schools should provide guidance for students in adolescence.
青春期。
Tā de qīng chūn qī guò dé hěn kuài lè.
He had a very happy adolescence.

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.

青春

青qīnggreen/fresh春chūnspring

偏正Modifier + head

期qīperiod

青春 (youth) and 期 (period) together mean adolescence.

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.

生生shēng
井井jǐng

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

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

艸艸cǎograss

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

屯

屯tún春chūn

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

春 combines 艸 (grass) and 日 (sun) with 屯, which supplies the sound and is described as a swollen sprout.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Life Stages & Age

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.