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妙处 (miào chǔ) — pleasant or beautiful place; (literary) subtlety; the exquisite quality of something

Definition

Literary word for 'the fine point / hidden beauty' of something — what makes it subtly excellent (a poem, a play, a place). Most often used with 在于 ('lies in') or 看不出 ('can't see').

noun
pleasant or beautiful place(literary) subtletythe exquisite quality of something

Examples

  • 妙处。
    Zhè ge gōng yuán de miào chǔ zài yú tā de ān jìng.
    The charm of this park lies in its tranquility.
  • 妙处，。
    Wǒ yì kāi shǐ méi kàn chū zhè shǒu shī de miào chǔ, hòu lái cái míng bai.
    I didn't see the subtlety of this poem at first; only later did I understand.
  • 妙处，。
    Zhè chū xì de miào chǔ hěn duō, zhí dé fǎn fù guān kàn.
    This play has many subtle beauties and is worth watching repeatedly.

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.

妙miàowonderful
处chùplace

妙 means wonderful or subtle, and 处 is a place or point, giving a pleasant place or exquisite point.

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo妙miào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妙 combines 女, a woman, with 少, which gives the sound.

Open 妙 →

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 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夂夂zhǐ
几几jǐtable
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū處chǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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