大纲 (dà gāng) — outline; synopsis | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

大纲 is the structured plan or framework of a work (a project, course, or document). It's broader and more official than 提纲 (preparatory notes) and more concrete than 纲要 (essential points).

noun

outlinesynopsis

Examples

大纲。
Kǎo shì qián lǎo shī fā le fù xí dà gāng.
Before the exam, the teacher gave out a review outline.
大纲。
Zhè ge xiàng mù de dà gāng hái xū yào xiū gǎi.
The outline of this project still needs revision.
大纲。
Tā xiān xiě le yí gè xiáng xì de gù shi dà gāng.
He first wrote a detailed story outline.

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.

纲gāngthreads

大 (main) and 纲 (threads) together give the main outline of a subject.

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.

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 綱; 纲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìrope

Sound part声符shēngfú

岡

岡gāng綱gāng

Same sound today

The traditional form 綱 has 糸 (rope) beside 岡 as a sound part; the simplified 纲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Abstract Concepts Reading & Writing

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.