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双人舞 (shuāng rén wǔ) — (dance) duet, pas de deux

Definition

noun
(dance) duetpas de deux
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 双人舞。
    Tā men biǎo yǎn de shuāng rén wǔ yíng dé le guān zhòng rè liè de zhǎng shēng.
    The duet they performed won warm applause from the audience.
  • 双人舞《》。
    Zhè duàn shuāng rén wǔ xuǎn zì bā lěi wǔ jù 《tiān é hú》.
    This pas de deux is from the ballet Swan Lake.
  • ，双人舞。
    Zài wǔ dǎo bǐ sài zhōng, shuāng rén wǔ shì zuì shòu guān zhù de xiàng mù zhī yī.
    In dance competitions, the duet is one of the most watched categories.

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.

双人for two people
双shuāngpair人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head
舞wǔdance

双人 says two people, and 舞 is dance; together they give a dance for two.

Characters in this word

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

双 is made of two 又 parts side by side. Repeating 又 gives the sense of a pair.

Open 双 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
舛舛chuǎnsteps, feet in convergent direction
Sound part声符shēngfú
無
無wú舞wǔ
Same sound today

舞 combines 舛, showing feet in converging steps, with 無 above. 無 gave the sound and also preserved its older meaning of dancing, so the shape points to dancing.

Open 舞 →
Appears in
Dance & Performance

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