多姿 (duō zī) — to have many postures or forms; varied, diverse | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary word for 'varied and graceful in form' — almost always used in the set phrase 多姿多彩 ('varied and colorful'). More literary than plain 多样.

verb

to have many postures or formsvarieddiverse

Examples

多姿，。
Tā de wǔ dǎo duō zī, fēi cháng yōu měi.
Her dance is full of varied postures, very graceful.
多姿，。
Zhè ge gōng yuán de jǐng sè duō zī, ràng rén liú lián wàng fǎn.
The scenery of this park is varied and beautiful, making people linger and forget to leave.
多姿，。
Rén shēng duō zī, wǒ men yào zhēn xī měi yì tiān.
Life is full of variety; we should cherish every day.

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.

姿zīpostures

The idea of 多 many and 姿 postures gives varied forms.

Characters in this word

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

多 originally showed two pieces of meat placed together; the repeated meat shape gives the sense of many.

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

次女姿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

次

次cì姿zī

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

姿 pairs 女, meaning woman, with 次, which gives the sound.

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