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时尚 (shí shàng) — (noun) fashion; (noun) fad; (adjective) fashionable

Definition

时尚 covers both the noun sense ('fashion' as a cultural phenomenon) and the adjective sense ('fashionable'). It is broader and more abstract than 时髦 (just trendy people/things) or 新款 (the latest product model).

noun
fashionfad
adjective
fashionable

Examples

  • 时尚。
    Tā zǒng shì guān zhù zuì xīn de shí shàng.
    She always follows the latest fashion.
  • 时尚。
    Zhè jiàn yī fu hěn shí shàng.
    This piece of clothing is very fashionable.
  • 时尚。
    shí shàng Shì yì zhǒng shēng huó tài dù.
    Fashion is a kind of life attitude.

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.

时shícurrent
尚shàngvalue

时 gives current and 尚 gives value, together meaning what is valued at a time.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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
八八bā
Sound part声符shēngfú
向
向xiàng尚shàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

尚 pairs 八 with 向: 八 carries the meaning, and 向 gives the sound.

Open 尚 →
Appears in
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