意识流 (yì shí liú) — stream of consciousness (literary technique)

Definition

A literary term for the 'stream of consciousness' writing technique, which presents a character's thoughts as they flow, without normal logic or order.

noun
stream of consciousness (literary technique)

Examples

  • 《》意识流。
    Qiáo yī sī de 《yóu lì xī sī》 shì yì shí liú xiǎo shuō de dài biǎo zuò.
    Joyce's Ulysses is a representative work of stream-of-consciousness fiction.
  • 意识流，。
    Zhè piān xiǎo shuō yùn yòng yì shí liú shǒu fǎ, zhǎn xiàn le rén wù fù zá de nèi xīn shì jiè.
    This novel uses the stream-of-consciousness technique to present the character's complex inner world.
  • 意识流，。
    Tā shuō huà xiàng yì shí liú yí yàng tiào yuè, ràng rén hěn nán gēn shàng.
    She speaks in a stream-of-consciousness way, jumping from thought to thought, making it hard to follow.

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.

意识consciousness
意yìthought识shíknowledge
联合Side by side
流liústream

意识 denotes consciousness, and 流 gives the image of a stream.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

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 識; 识 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí識zhì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 識 pairs 言 (say) with 戠 as a sound part; the simplified 识 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 识 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →

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