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奇闻 (qí wén) — fantastic story, strange tale, thrilling anecdote

Definition

A 'strange tale' or 'curious story' — often a sensational anecdote reported in the press or passed around as gossip. 奇 emphasizes the oddness; 闻 is the thing heard.

noun
fantastic storystrange talethrilling anecdote

Examples

  • 奇闻。
    Tā jiǎng le yí gè qí wén.
    He told a fantastic story.
  • 奇闻。
    Zhè ge qí wén zài bào zhǐ shàng dēng chū lái le.
    This fantastic story was published in the newspaper.
  • 奇闻。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu hěn duō qí wén.
    There are many fantastic stories in history.

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.

奇qístrange
闻wénstory

奇 “strange” and 闻 “story” combine to mean a strange story.

Characters in this word

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
大大dàbig; great
Sound part声符shēngfú
可
可kě奇
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奇 pairs 大 (big; great) with 可, a sound part.

Open 奇 →

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 聞; 闻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén聞wén
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 聞, 門 supplies the sound and 耳 is an ear; this explanation is about 聞, not the simplified 闻.

Open 闻 →
Appears in
Literature & Poetry

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