同义 (tóng yì) — synonymous | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

同义 (tóngyì) describes two words or expressions that share the same meaning. It is an adjective, not a noun — the noun form is 同义词 ('synonym').

adjective

synonymous

Easily confused

同义。
Zhè liǎng gè cí shì tóng yì de.
These two words are synonymous.
“”“”。
"Gāo xìng" hé "kuài lè" shì tóng yì cí.
"Gāoxìng" and "kuàilè" are synonyms.
同义。
Nǐ xū yào zhǎo yí gè tóng yì biǎo dá.
You need to find a synonymous expression.

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.

义yìmeaning

同 means same and 义 means meaning, so 同义 describes things having the same meaning.

Characters in this word

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

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

我

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.