悼辞 (dào cí) — eulogy (funeral address)

Definition

悼辞 (dàocí) means 'eulogy' — a spoken or written tribute delivered at a funeral. The 辞 ending marks it as written or formal speech, rather than everyday talk.

noun
eulogy (funeral address)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 悼辞。
    Tā zài zàng lǐ shàng dú le dào cí yì piān.
    He read a eulogy at the funeral.
  • 悼辞。
    Zhè piān dào cí xiě dé fēi cháng gǎn rén.
    This eulogy is very touching.
  • 悼辞。
    Tā de dào cí ràng zài chǎng de rén dōu liú xià le yǎn lèi.
    His eulogy moved everyone present to tears.

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
辞cíwords

悼 expresses mourning and 辞 names the words or address.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 辞 →

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