TongTong
Sign in

同义词 (tóng yì cí) — synonym

Definition

A word with the same or very similar meaning as another word (e.g. 美丽 and 漂亮). Contrast with 反义词 (antonym), which expresses the opposite meaning.

noun
synonym

Examples

  • “”“”同义词。
    "Měi lì" hé "piào liang" shì tóng yì cí.
    "Měilì" and "piàoliang" are synonyms.
  • ，同义词。
    Xiě zuò wén shí, shǐ yòng tóng yì cí kě yǐ ràng yǔ yán gèng fēng fù.
    When writing essays, using synonyms can make the language richer.
  • 同义词。
    Chá tóng yì cí cí diǎn néng bāng zhù nǐ zhǎo dào hé shì de cí.
    Looking up a thesaurus can help you find the right word.

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.

同义same meaning
同tóngsame义yìmeaning
偏正Modifier + head
词cíword

同义 means same meaning, and 词 is word; together they name words with 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.

Open 同 →

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 →
Appears in
Language

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.