布尔什维克 (Bù ěr shí wéi kè) — Bolshevik (member of the Bolshevik faction, lat…

Definition

A Russian loanword referring to the revolutionary faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party led by Lenin, which seized power in the October Revolution of 1917 and later became the Soviet Communist Party.

noun

Bolshevik (member of the Bolshevik faction, later the Soviet Communist Party)

Examples

1917，布尔什维克。
1917 Nián, Bù ěr shí wéi kè lǐng dǎo le shí yuè gé mìng.
In 1917, the Bolsheviks led the October Revolution.
布尔什维克。
Zhè běn shū xiáng xì jiè shào le Bù ěr shí wéi kè de lì shǐ.
This book provides a detailed introduction to the history of the Bolsheviks.
布尔什维克。
Liè níng shì Bù ěr shí wéi kè de zhǔ yào lǐng dǎo rén.
Lenin was the main leader of the Bolsheviks.

Origin

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

布、尔、什、维、克 only spell the foreign name; no character carries its own meaning here.

Sound-only characters

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

巾巾jīnkerchief

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

父fù布bù

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

Open 布 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 什 →

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 維; 维 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

唯

唯wéi維wéi

Same sound today

In the traditional form 維, 糸 marks a thread meaning and 唯 provides the sound; the simplified 维 is a later shortened shape.