必修 (bì xiū) — required; compulsory (of academic courses) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An adjective used only for academic courses labeled 'required / compulsory' (contrasts with 选修 'elective'). For general obligation, use 必须 or 必要 instead.

adjective

requiredcompulsory (of academic courses)

Examples

。
Měi xué qī dōu yǒu jǐ mén bì xiū kè.
Every semester there are several required courses.
必修。
Zhè xiē bì xiū kē mù bì xū tōng guò cái néng bì yè.
These compulsory subjects must be passed in order to graduate.
，。
Chú le bì xiū kè chéng, wǒ hái xuǎn le yì mén xuǎn xiū kè.
Besides the required courses, I also chose an elective.

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.

必 marks necessity, and 修 marks study: a course that must be studied.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 必 comes from the handle on the right side of a weapon, with two extra strokes added to its sides.

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

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

攸

攸yōu修xiū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6

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