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实物 (shí wù) — (noun) concrete object, physical item; (noun) in kind (as opposed to cash or virtual form)

Definition

实物 refers to a tangible, physical object — what you can see and hold. Contrast with 物质 (matter/substance in physics) and 实体 (an abstract 'entity' like a business); 实物 is the concrete, item-level sense.

noun
concrete objectphysical itemin kind (as opposed to cash or virtual form)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 实物。
    Wǎng shàng kàn dào de tú piàn hé shí wù bú tài yí yàng.
    The pictures seen online are not quite the same as the actual object.
  • 实物，。
    Gōng sī gěi de jiǎng lì shì shí wù, bú shì xiàn jīn.
    The reward from the company is in kind, not cash.
  • 实物，。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn chū de shì shí wù, bú shì fù zhì pǐn.
    What is displayed in the museum is the real object, not a replica.

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.

实shíactual
物wùthing

Actual thing gives a concrete physical object.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 實; 实 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 周周zhōucarved jade
  • 貝貝bèishellfish; cowrie

The traditional form 實 has 宀 'roof' above 周 'carved jade' and 貝 'cowrie'; the simplified 实 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 实 →

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
牛牛niú
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù物wù
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Miscellaneous Objects

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