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历史 (lì shǐ) — history

Definition

History as a formal field of study or a long record of past events. 来历 (HSK7) is narrower — the origin or past of one specific person or thing. 历史课堂 / 中国历史 uses 段 or 门.

noun
history
Measure word · 门, 段

Examples

  • 历史。
    Tā xǐ huan yán jiū lì shǐ.
    He likes to study history.
  • 。
    Zhè mén lì shǐ kè hěn yǒu yì si.
    This history class is very interesting.
  • 历史。
    Zhōng guó yǒu hěn cháng de lì shǐ.
    China has a very long history.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

历lìpast
史shǐrecord

历 and 史 both refer to past events or records, together meaning history.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歷; 历 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 历 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (简历, 经历) it is 歷; in others (日历) it is 曆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
厤
厤lì歷lì
Same sound today

The form 歷 pairs 止 with the sound part 厤.

Open 历 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old drawing showed someone holding a flag-like or writing tool, indicating the act of recording events; the exact inner shape is unclear.

Open 史 →
Appears in
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