抄本 (chāo běn) — hand-copied book; manuscript (handwritten copy) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hand-copied bookmanuscript (handwritten copy)

Measure word · 本

Examples

抄本。
Tú shū guǎn lǐ yǒu hěn duō gǔ dài de chāo běn.
There are many ancient hand-copied books in the library.
抄本。
Zhè běn chāo běn shì míng dài shū fǎ jiā xiě de.
This manuscript was written by a Ming dynasty calligrapher.
抄本。
Tā huā le hěn duō shí jiān yán jiū zhè bù chāo běn.
He spent a lot of time studying this hand-copied book.

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.

'抄' (copy) and '本' (book) combine to mean a copied book or manuscript.

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.

扌少抄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

少shǎo抄chāo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

抄 combines 扌 (hand) with 少, which supplies the sound.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Appears in

Reading & Writing

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