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原有 (yuán yǒu) — original, former

Definition

Means 'original' or 'formerly existing' — modifies something that was already there from the start, before any change. 原汁原味 is an idiom meaning 'true to the original flavor/style', not a near-synonym.

phrase
originalformer

Examples

  • 原有。
    Qǐng bǎo liú yuán yǒu de fēng gé.
    Please keep the original style.
  • 原有。
    Zhè ge jì huà yuán yǒu de wèn tí méi yǒu jiě jué.
    The original problems of this plan haven't been solved.
  • 原有。
    yuán yǒu De zhì dù xū yào gǎi jìn.
    The original system needs improvement.

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
有yǒuhave

原 original and 有 have give originally existing.

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 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Abstract Concepts

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