故事 (gù shi) — story; tale | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A 'story' or 'tale' — a narrative told or written, real or made-up. Pairs with 讲 (jiǎng, to tell) in everyday use; not used for the stories/floors of a building (use 层).

noun

storytale

Measure word · 个

Examples

故事。
Mā ma měi tiān wǎn shàng gěi wǒ jiǎng yí gè gù shi.
Mom tells me a story every evening.
故事？
Zhè ge gù shi shì zhēn shí de ma?
Is this story real?
故事。
Tā de gù shi ràng wǒ jué de hěn gǎn dòng.
His story made me feel very moved.

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.

故 (old) and 事 (event) form an old event, hence a story.

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.

古攵故

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攵Written in full as攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ故gù

Same sound today

故 uses 古 for the sound and 攵, written in full as 攴, for the meaning.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

又又yòuhand
中中zhōnga flagpole with a drum

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3 HSK 2.0 Level 3 1000 Most Frequent Chinese Words Literature & Poetry 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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