出现 (chū xiàn) — to appear, to emerge, to arise | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

General verb for something 'appearing' or 'emerging' (problems, opportunities, people, shops). 出现 has a wide, neutral scope; 涌现 is for many things emerging at once, 浮现 is for images or memories surfacing in the mind.

verb

to appearto emergeto arise

Examples

出现。
Wèn tí kāi shǐ chū xiàn le.
The problem started to appear.
出现。
Lù shang chū xiàn le hěn duō xīn shāng diàn.
Many new shops appeared on the road.
出现。
Jī huì zhōng yú chū xiàn le.
The opportunity finally appeared.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

出 (appear) and 现 (appear) both mean to come into view.

Characters in this word

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

止止zhǐfoot
凵凵kǎncave

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

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 現; 现 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

見

見jiàn現

Same sound today

The traditional form 現 pairs 玉 (jade) with 見 as a sound part; the simplified 现 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

Appears in

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