大写字母 (dà xiě zì mǔ) — capital letters, uppercase letters

Definition

noun
capital lettersuppercase letters

Examples

  • 大写字母。
    Qǐng yòng dà xiě zì mǔ shū xiě nǐ de míng zì.
    Please write your name in capital letters.
  • 大写字母。
    Yīng wén jù zi kāi tóu yào yòng dà xiě zì mǔ.
    The beginning of an English sentence should use a capital letter.
  • 大写字母。
    Hù zhào shàng de xìng míng bì xū yòng dà xiě zì mǔ tián xiě.
    The name on the passport must be filled in using capital letters.

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.

大写capital
大dàbig写xiěwrite
偏正Modifier + head
字母letters
字zìcharacter母mǔbasic element
联合Side by side

大 means big and 写 means write, giving written big; 字母 refers to letters, so the whole means capital letters.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 寫; 写 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
舄
舄xì寫xiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寫 combines 宀 with 舄 for the sound; this note is about 寫, not the simplified 写.

Open 写 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ字zì
Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

Open 字 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →
Appears in
Language

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