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小说家 (xiǎo shuō jiā) — novelist

Definition

noun
novelist
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小说家。
    Zhè wèi xiǎo shuō jiā de zuò pǐn zài guó nèi wài dōu hěn shòu huān yíng.
    This novelist's works are very popular both at home and abroad.
  • 小说家，。
    Tā shì yí wèi zhù míng de xiǎo shuō jiā, yǐ jīng chū bǎn le shí bù cháng piān xiǎo shuō.
    He is a famous novelist who has published ten full-length novels.
  • 小说家。
    Hěn duō xiǎo shuō jiā de líng gǎn lái yuán yú rì cháng shēng huó.
    Many novelists draw inspiration from daily life.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

小说fiction
小xiǎosmall说shuōtalk
偏正Modifier + head
家jiāexpert

It combines 小说 'fiction' with 家 'expert', meaning a person who writes fiction.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
Literature & Poetry

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