手稿 (shǒu gǎo) — manuscript (handwritten original document)

Definition

noun
manuscript (handwritten original document)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 手稿
    Zhè wèi zuò jiā de shǒu gǎo yì zhí bǎo cún zài bó wù guǎn lǐ.
    This writer's manuscript has always been kept in the museum.
  • 手稿
    Tā huā le sān nián shí jiān zhěng lǐ fù qīn de shǒu gǎo.
    He spent three years organizing his father's manuscripts.
  • 手稿
    Zhè fèn shǒu gǎo shì shí bā shì jì de zhēn guì wén xiàn.
    This manuscript is a precious document from the 18th century.

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.

稿gǎodraft

手稿 joins 手, meaning hand, with 稿, meaning draft, for a handwritten manuscript.

Characters in this word

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

稿 is built from 禾, which carries the meaning, and 高, which supplies the pronunciation.

Open 稿 →

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