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外来语 (wài lái yǔ) — loanword

Definition

A loanword: a word borrowed from a foreign language into Chinese. Distinguished from 音译 (yīnyì), which is just the transliteration method.

noun
loanword

Examples

  • 外来语。
    Hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu hěn duō lái zì yīng yǔ de wài lái yǔ.
    There are many loanwords in Chinese that come from English.
  • 外来语。
    Xué xí wài lái yǔ kě yǐ bāng zhù wǒ men liǎo jiě qí tā wén huà.
    Learning loanwords can help us understand other cultures.
  • 外来语。
    Zhè běn shū zhuān mén yán jiū hàn yǔ zhōng de wài lái yǔ.
    This book specializes in studying loanwords in Chinese.

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.

外来from outside
外wàioutside来láicome
偏正Modifier + head
语yǔlanguage

外 outside and 来 come mean arriving from outside, and 语 means language.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →

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 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
吾
吾wú語yǔ
Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Open 语 →
Appears in
Language

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