口述 (kǒu shù) — to recount orally; to dictate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

口述 (kǒu shù) means to convey content through spoken words rather than writing — used for recounting events, dictating a text, or transmitting stories that were never written down.

verb

to recount orallyto dictate

Examples

口述。
Tā kǒu shù le dāng tiān fā shēng de shì qing.
He orally recounted what happened that day.
口述。
Qǐng bǎ zhè fèn bào gào kǒu shù yí biàn.
Please dictate this report once.
口述。
Hěn duō lì shǐ gù shi shì yóu zǔ xiān kǒu shù xià lái de.
Many historical stories were passed down orally by our ancestors.

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.

述shùnarrate

口 means mouth and 述 means narrate; together they mean narrate by mouth.

Characters in this word

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

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

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

朮

朮zhú述shù

Same sound today

述 combines 辵, a walking radical, with 朮, which gives the sound; the walking part belongs to the meaning.

Appears in

Communication & Speech

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