引语 (yǐn yǔ) — quotation, quote

Definition

noun
quotationquote

Examples

  • 引语。
    Tā zài yǎn jiǎng zhōng yǐn yòng le hěn duō yǐn yǔ.
    He quoted many quotations in his speech.
  • 引语。
    Zhè piān lùn wén de yǐn yǔ dōu lái zì jīng diǎn zhù zuò.
    The quotations in this paper all come from classic works.
  • 引语。
    Lǎo shī ràng wǒ men zhǎo chū wén zhāng lǐ suǒ yǒu de yǐn yǔ.
    The teacher asked us to find all the quotations in the article.

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.

引yǐncite
语yǔwords

“引” means cite and “语” means words; the word is cited words, a quotation.

Characters in this word

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

  • 弓弓gōngbow
  • 丿丿piěindicatory stroke

引 is made from 弓, a bow, and 丿, a short slant stroke added at the place where the string is pulled, marking the action of drawing or pulling.

Open 引 →

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 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
吾
吾wú語yǔ
Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Open 语 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.