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修辞 (xiū cí) — rhetoric (the art of effective expression); rhetorical device, figure of speech

Definition

修辞 is both the academic study of effective expression and the concrete techniques (比喻、夸张, etc.) a writer or speaker uses. At HSK 7, the more common sense is the set of techniques itself — rhetorical devices.

noun
rhetoric (the art of effective expression)rhetorical devicefigure of speech

Examples

  • 修辞。
    Xué xí xiū cí duì tí gāo xiě zuò néng lì hěn yǒu bāng zhù.
    Learning rhetoric is very helpful for improving writing skills.
  • 修辞。
    Zhè piān lùn wén fēn xī le lǔ xùn zuò pǐn zhōng de xiū cí shǒu fǎ.
    This paper analyzes the rhetorical devices in Lu Xun's works.
  • 修辞。
    Tā zài yǎn jiǎng zhōng yùn yòng le duō zhǒng xiū cí jì qiǎo.
    He used various rhetorical techniques in his speech.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

修xiūadjust
辞cíwords

修辞 combines 修, to adjust, with 辞, words, to mean shaping language.

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 辞 →
Appears in
Language

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