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佳作 (jiā zuō) — fine piece of writing; excellent work (of art, literature, etc.)

Definition

A formal word for an excellent piece of writing or art, usually used in reviews and literary contexts. 佳 is the key element meaning 'fine/excellent'; 作 refers to the work itself.

noun
fine piece of writingexcellent work (of art, literature, etc.)
Measure word · 部

Examples

  • 佳作。
    Zhè piān jiā zuō zài bǐ sài zhōng huò dé le yī děng jiǎng.
    This excellent work won first prize in the competition.
  • 佳作。
    Tā de jiā zuō bèi fā biǎo zài yì běn zhù míng de zá zhì shàng.
    His fine piece of writing was published in a famous magazine.
  • 佳作。
    Měi wèi zuò jiā dōu xī wàng xiě chū jiā zuō.
    Every writer hopes to produce an excellent work.

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.

佳jiāfine
作zuòwork

“佳” means fine, and “作” means a created work, so the whole names an excellent piece.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman; person
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī佳jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

佳 combines 人 (person) with 圭, which is used for the sound guī.

Open 佳 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →
Appears in
Literature & Poetry

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