大声 (dà shēng) — (noun) loud voice; (adverb) loudly

Definition

Acts as an adverb meaning 'loudly' before the verb (with 地), or as a noun for a loud voice itself.

noun
loud voice
adverb
loudly

Examples

  • 大声
    Qǐng dà shēng shuō, wǒ tīng bú jiàn.
    Please speak loudly, I can't hear you.
  • 大声
    Tā de yī shēng dà shēng bǎ wǒ xià le yí tiào.
    His loud voice startled me.
  • 大声
    Tā dà shēng dì chàng le qǐ lái.
    She started singing loudly.

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 (big) describes 声 (sound), giving a loud sound.

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
qìngshēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Open 声 →

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