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本事 (běn shi) — source material; original story

Definition

本事 refers to the original story or real-life material a creative work is based on. 素材 is the broader 'raw material' an artist gathers to draw from; 本事 is the specific source a finished work draws on.

noun
source materialoriginal story

Examples

  • 本事。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō de běn shi shì zuò zhě de zhēn shí jīng lì.
    The source material for this novel is the author's real-life experience.
  • 本事。
    Dǎo yǎn gēn jù lì shǐ běn shi pāi shè le zhè bù diàn yǐng.
    The director filmed this movie based on historical source material.
  • 。
    Biān jù duì yuán běn shi jìn xíng le dà liàng gǎi biān.
    The screenwriter made extensive adaptations to the original story.

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.

本běnoriginal
事shìmatter/story

"本" means original and "事" means matter/story; together they refer to the original story.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →

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

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

Open 事 →
Appears in
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