古典文学 (gǔ diǎn wén xué) — classical literature

Definition

noun

classical literature

古典文学。
Wǒ shàng dà xué shí xǐ huan yán jiū zhōng guó gǔ diǎn wén xué.
I liked to study Chinese classical literature when I was in college.
古典文学。
Tā zhèng zài dú yì běn guān yú rì běn gǔ diǎn wén xué de jiào kē shū.
He is reading a textbook on Japanese classical literature.
古典文学。
Lǎo shī tuī jiàn wǒ men duō dú yì xiē xī fāng gǔ diǎn wén xué.
The teacher recommended that we read more Western classical literature.

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.

古典classical

古gǔancient典diǎncanonical

偏正Modifier + head

文学literature

偏正Modifier + head

古典 means classical or ancient, and 文学 means literature, so the whole phrase names classical literature.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

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

典 puts 冊 (books) on a 丌 (table), showing official books resting on a table.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.