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失声 (shī shēng) — to cry out involuntarily (from shock, pain, or strong emotion); to lose one's voice (temporarily unable to speak)

Definition

Literally 'lose voice' (失声), it covers both senses: involuntarily crying out from shock/pain/emotion, and physically losing one's voice (e.g. from a cold).

verb
to cry out involuntarily (from shock, pain, or strong emotion)to lose one's voice (temporarily unable to speak)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā xià dé shī le yī shēng.
    He was so scared he let out a cry.
  • ，失声。
    Tā gǎn mào le, zuó tiān shī shēng le.
    He caught a cold and lost his voice yesterday.
  • ，失声。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā shī shēng tòng kū.
    Hearing this news, she cried out in grief.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

失shīlose
声shēngvoice

The idea is losing 声, voice, which gives the sense of crying out or losing speech.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
殸
殸qìng聲shēng
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 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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