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双关语 (shuāng guān yǔ) — pun; play on words; double entendre

Definition

noun
punplay on wordsdouble entendre

Examples

  • 双关语，。
    Zhè ge shuāng guān yǔ hěn yǒu yì si, lì yòng le tóng yīn zì.
    This pun is very interesting; it uses homophones.
  • 双关语。
    Tā xǐ huan zài yǎn jiǎng zhōng shǐ yòng shuāng guān yǔ lái huó yuè qì fen.
    He likes to use puns in speeches to liven up the atmosphere.
  • 双关语，。
    Zhè ge guǎng gào yǔ shì yí gè shuāng guān yǔ, ràng rén huì xīn yí xiào.
    This slogan is a pun that makes people smile knowingly.

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.

双关double meaning
双shuāngdouble关guānrelate
偏正Modifier + head
语yǔword

双关 conveys double meaning and 语 means word, so the whole names a word with a double meaning.

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 →

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 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
門門méndoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢇅
𢇅𢇅關guān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

Open 关 →

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 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
吾
吾wú語yǔ
Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Open 语 →
Appears in
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