复印 (fù yìn) — to photocopy, to make a photocopy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Means physically photocopying a paper document. Use 复制 for digital files (电脑上 copy) and 重复 for repeating an action.

verb

to photocopyto make a photocopy

Examples

复印。
Qǐng bāng wǒ fù yìn yí xià zhè zhāng zhǐ.
Please help me photocopy this piece of paper.
复印？
Nǐ néng fù yìn liǎng fèn ma?
Can you make two copies?
复印。
Tā zài tú shū guǎn fù yìn shū.
He is photocopying books in the library.

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.

复 means 'again' and 印 means 'print', giving 'print again'.

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 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

彳复復

Meaning part形符xíngfú

彳彳chìwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

复

复fù復fù

Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

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

爪爪zhuǎhand
卩卩jiékneeling person

印 pairs 爪 (hand) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on a kneeling person.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Workplace & Office

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