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原文 (yuán wén) — original text

Definition

The original, source text — as opposed to a translation (译文), summary (摘要), or edited version. The term refers to the author's own wording, not a paraphrase.

noun
original text
Measure word · 篇

Examples

  • 原文，。
    Nǐ xū yào hé duì yí xià yuán wén, kàn kàn shì fǒu yǒu wù.
    You need to check the original text to see if there are mistakes.
  • 原文，。
    Zhè piān yuán wén de cuò cí fēi cháng yán jǐn, zhí dé zǐ xì yán jiū.
    The wording of this original text is very rigorous and deserves careful study.
  • 原文，。
    Fān yì shí bì xū zhōng shí yú yuán wén, bù néng suí yì gǎi dòng.
    When translating, you must be faithful to the original text and cannot arbitrarily alter it.

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.

原yuánoriginal
文wéntext

原 marks the original state, and 文 gives the text.

Characters in this word

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

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Open 原 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

Open 文 →
Appears in
LanguageReading & Writing

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