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偶像 (ǒu xiàng) — idol

Definition

偶像 is someone a fan personally admires and emulates. 明星 just means a famous celebrity — admired publicly but not necessarily followed personally.

noun
idol
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 偶像。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù shì wǒ de ǒu xiàng.
    She has been my idol since childhood.
  • 偶像。
    Zhè xiē ǒu xiàng tuán tǐ hěn shòu nián qīng rén huān yíng.
    These idol groups are very popular among young people.
  • 偶像。
    Tā de mèng xiǎng shì chéng wéi yí gè ǒu xiàng.
    His dream is to become an idol.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

偶ǒufigure
像xiàngimage

偶 and 像 both point to a made likeness, together naming an idol.

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
禺
禺yú偶ǒu
Same sound today

偶 pairs 亻 (person) with 禺 for the sound. The evidence describes it as a statue of a person, an idol.

Open 偶 →

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
象
象xiàng像
Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

Open 像 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Film & Theater2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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