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悼词 (dào cí) — memorial speech, eulogy

Definition

A written or spoken tribute delivered at a funeral to honor the deceased. The measure word is 篇; it is read aloud (念) at a 葬礼.

noun
memorial speecheulogy
Measure word · 篇

Examples

  • 悼词。
    Tā zài zàng lǐ shàng niàn le dào cí.
    He read a eulogy at the funeral.
  • 悼词。
    Zhè piān dào cí xiě dé fēi cháng gǎn rén.
    This eulogy was written very movingly.
  • 悼词。
    Tā huā le yì zhěng yè xiě dào cí.
    He spent a whole night writing the eulogy.

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.

悼dàomourn
词cíwords

悼 means mourn and 词 means words, so 悼词 is a spoken or written tribute for someone who has died.

Characters in this word

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
卓
卓zhuó悼dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 悼, the left side 忄 is a narrow form of 心, the heart, marking the feeling of mourning, while the right side 卓 gives the sound.

Open 悼 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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