名曰 (míng yuē) — to be called, to be named (formal/literary)

Definition

Literary/archaic 'is called, is named', almost only seen in written Chinese, names, or stylized storytelling. Stronger and more formal than the neutral 叫 jiào.

verb
to be calledto be named (formal/literary)

Examples

  • ，名曰。
    Yǒu yì zhǒng qí shòu, míng yuē qí lín.
    There is a strange beast called the qilin.
  • 名曰。
    Zhè ge gù shi de zhǔ rén gōng míng yuē zhāng sān.
    The protagonist of this story is named Zhang San.
  • ，名曰“”。
    Tā men jiàn lì le yí gè zǔ zhī, míng yuē "shàn háng huì".
    They established an organization called 'Good Deeds Society'.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

名míngto name
曰yuēto call

名曰 uses 名 to name and 曰 to call, both pointing to the act of giving or using a name.

Characters in this word

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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

The glyph 曰 shows an open mouth with a small mark coming out, representing speech.

Open 曰 →

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