反义词 (fǎn yì cí) — antonym

Definition

noun
antonym

Examples

  • ''反义词？
    Nǐ néng shuō chū ' dà ' de fǎn yì cí ma?
    Can you say the antonym of 'big'?
  • 反义词。
    Xué xí fǎn yì cí kě yǐ bāng nǐ gèng hǎo dì lǐ jiě cí huì.
    Learning antonyms can help you better understand vocabulary.
  • ''''反义词。
    ' Lěng ' hé ' rè ' shì yí duì fǎn yì cí.
    'Cold' and 'hot' are a pair of antonyms.

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.

反义opposite meaning
反fǎnopposite义yìmeaning
偏正Modifier + head
词cíword

反义 (opposite meaning) + 词 (word): a word with opposite meaning.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng反fǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

反 uses 又 (hand) for meaning and 厂 for sound. Its original shape showed a hand turning its palm over, giving the sense of return or reverse.

Open 反 →

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →

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