圣歌 (shèng gē) — hymn | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hymn

Measure word · 首

Examples

圣歌。
Tā men zài jiào táng lǐ chàng le yì shǒu shèng gē.
They sang a hymn in church.
圣歌。
Zhè shǒu shèng gē fēi cháng gǔ lǎo.
This hymn is very old.
圣歌。
Tā měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu tīng shèng gē.
He listens to hymns every morning.

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.

圣 means holy and 歌 means song, giving a hymn.

Characters in this word

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 聖; 圣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

呈

呈chéng聖shèng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聖 puts 耳 (ear) beside 呈, which gives the sound; the simplified 圣 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

哥欠歌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànblow

Sound part声符shēngfú

哥

哥gē歌gē

Same sound today

The shape 歌 uses 哥 for the sound and 欠, meaning blow. It came from a form of 哥 used for singing.

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