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指南 (zhǐ nán) — guidebook; guide (a book or document that provides guidance)

Definition

指南 is the inanimate thing — a guidebook or printed/online manual (旅游指南, 操作指南), not the person. Unlike 导游 or 向导, which are people who lead you, 指南 is the book or document you read.

noun
guidebookguide (a book or document that provides guidance)
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 指南。
    Zhè běn lǚ yóu zhǐ nán xiě dé fēi cháng xiáng xì.
    This travel guidebook is written in great detail.
  • 指南。
    Cāo zuò zhǐ nán kě yǐ bāng zhù nǐ kuài sù xué huì shǐ yòng zhè ge ruǎn jiàn.
    The operation guide can help you quickly learn to use this software.
  • 指南。
    Tā àn zhào zhǐ nán shàng de bù zhòu wán chéng le shí yàn.
    He completed the experiment following the steps in the guide.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

指zhǐpoint
南nánsouth

指 (point) toward 南 (south) gives direction, hence a guide.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
旨
旨zhǐ指zhǐ
Same sound today

The left part 扌 is the hand form 手. The right part 旨 gives the sound.

Open 指 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Reading & WritingTravel & Tourism

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