初版 (chū bǎn) — first edition | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

first edition

Examples

初版1990。
Zhè běn shū de chū bǎn chū bǎn yú 1990 nián.
The first edition of this book was published in 1990.
初版。
chū bǎn Hé dì èr bǎn yǒu hěn duō bù tóng zhī chù.
The first edition and the second edition have many differences.
初版。
Wǒ zài tú shū guǎn zhǎo dào le zhè běn shū de chū bǎn.
I found the first edition of this book in the library.

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.

版bǎnedition

初 means first and 版 means edition, together naming the first printing of a work.

Characters in this word

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

衤刀初

衤衣yīclothes
刀刀dāoknife; to cut

初 combines 衤 (clothes) and 刀 (knife), showing the start of making clothes by cutting cloth.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

片反版

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

反fǎn版bǎn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

版 is formed by 片 and 反, with 片 contributing the sense and 反 the sound.

Appears in

Reading & Writing

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