新闻片 (xīn wén piān) — newsreel; news film

Definition

新闻片 is a short news film or newsreel — actual recorded footage of events, not a newspaper or news article. The measure word is 部, and 片 marks it as a film rather than the printed 新闻 (news in general).

noun
newsreelnews film
Measure word · 部

Examples

  • 新闻片。
    Zhè bù xīn wén piān jì lù le dāng nián de dà shì jiàn.
    This newsreel recorded the major events of that year.
  • 新闻片。
    Wǒ zài zī liào guǎn kàn le yí bù hēi bái xīn wén piān.
    I watched a black-and-white news film at the archive.
  • 新闻片。
    Zǎo qī de xīn wén piān shì liǎo jiě lì shǐ de zhòng yào zī liào.
    Early newsreels are important materials for understanding history.

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wénreport
偏正Modifier + head
片piànfilm

新闻 uses 新 'new' and 闻 'report' for news, while 片 is a film.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 片 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.