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鸡尾酒会 (jī wěi jiǔ huì) — cocktail party

Definition

noun
cocktail party
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 鸡尾酒会。
    Wǒ men zài gōng sī jǔ bàn le yí gè jī wěi jiǔ huì.
    We held a cocktail party at the company.
  • 鸡尾酒会。
    jī wěi jiǔ huì Shàng yǒu hěn duō měi shí hé yǐn liào.
    There is a lot of food and drinks at the cocktail party.
  • 鸡尾酒会。
    Tā chuān zhuó yí tào xī zhuāng qù cān jiā jī wěi jiǔ huì.
    He wore a suit to attend the cocktail party.

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.

鸡尾酒cocktail
鸡jīchicken尾wěitail酒jiǔwine
偏正Modifier + head
会huìparty

鸡尾酒 names the cocktail drink, and 会 names the party.

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 雞; 鸡 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuīshort-tailed bird
Sound part声符shēngfú
奚
奚xī雞jī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雞 pairs 奚, which gives the sound, with 隹, a short-tailed bird. The simplified 鸡 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 奚.

Open 鸡 →

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

The form 尾 combines 尸 (person) and 毛 (hair; feather).

Open 尾 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →
Appears in
Dining & RestaurantsFriends & Social

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