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新约 (xīn yuē) — New Testament

Definition

noun
New Testament

Examples

  • 新约。
    Tā zhèng zài dú xīn yuē.
    He is reading the New Testament.
  • 新约。
    xīn yuē Zhōng yǒu hěn duō guān yú yē sū de gù shi.
    The New Testament has many stories about Jesus.
  • 新约。
    Shén fù měi tiān dōu yào jiǎng jiě xīn yuē.
    The priest explains the New Testament every day.

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.

新xīnnew
约yuēcovenant

新 says new and 约 says covenant, so 新约 means the New Testament.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn新xīn
Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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