士 (shì) — (bound form) person of a certain status or profession (scholar, trained professional, etc.); (bound form) soldier; warrior; (in Chinese chess) advisor piece
Definition
士 (shì) is a bound morpheme, never used alone. It means 'scholar/warrior' in classical compounds (士兵 'soldiers', 博士 'PhD'), and in Chinese chess names the 顾问 'advisor' piece.
bound form
person of a certain status or profession (scholar, trained professional, etc.)soldierwarrior(in Chinese chess) advisor piece
Examples
- 。Tā shì yí wèi fēi cháng yǒu xué wèn de bó shì.He is a very learned PhD holder.
- 。shì Bīng men zhèng zài xùn liàn.The soldiers are training.
- 士。Qí shǒu yí dòng le shì.The chess player moved the advisor piece.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.
The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.
Appears in
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