新闻学 (xīn wén xué) — journalism (the academic field)

Definition

Refers to the academic field of journalism (studied at university), not the practice of news gathering itself. Contrast with 记者 ('journalist', the person) and 新闻 ('news').

noun
journalism (the academic field)

Examples

  • 新闻学。
    Tā dà xué xué de shì xīn wén xué.
    He studied journalism in college.
  • 新闻学。
    xīn wén xué Kè chéng bāo kuò xīn wén xiě zuò hé méi tǐ lún lǐ.
    Journalism courses include news writing and media ethics.
  • 新闻学，。
    Tā duì xīn wén xué hěn gǎn xìng qù, xiǎng dāng jì zhě.
    She is very interested in journalism and wants to be a reporter.

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.

新闻news
新xīnnew闻wénnews
偏正Modifier + head
学xuéstudy

新闻 gives news, and 学 adds the sense of a field of study.

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 聞; 闻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén聞wén
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 聞, 門 supplies the sound and 耳 is an ear; this explanation is about 聞, not the simplified 闻.

Open 闻 →

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

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