古语 (gǔ yǔ) — old saying; ancient proverb; archaism; archaic expression; ancient language (as a historical stage of Chinese)

Definition

Refers to language, sayings, or words from ancient times — the historical Chinese of past eras. Senses include archaic expressions now rarely used and proverbs handed down from antiquity.

noun
old sayingancient proverbarchaismarchaic expressionancient language (as a historical stage of Chinese)

Examples

  • 古语‘，’。
    Zhè jù gǔ yǔ de yì si shì 'sān rén xíng, bì yǒu wǒ shī'.
    The meaning of this old saying is 'When three walk together, there must be my teacher.'
  • 古语。
    Xiàn dài hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu xiē gǔ yǔ yǐ jīng hěn shǎo yòng le.
    In modern Chinese, some archaisms are rarely used anymore.
  • 古语。
    Yán jiū gǔ yǔ xū yào liǎo jiě gǔ dài de wén huà bèi jǐng.
    Studying ancient language requires understanding the cultural background of antiquity.

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.

古gǔancient
语yǔlanguage

A 语 from the 古, an old saying or archaic expression.

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.

Open 古 →

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 →

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