杰 (jié) — (bound form) outstanding, prominent; (bound form) hero, outstanding person
Definition
杰 is a bound morpheme meaning 'outstanding' — it never stands alone, only inside compounds like 杰出 ('outstanding, remarkable') and 杰作 ('masterpiece').
bound form
outstandingprominentherooutstanding person
Examples
- 。Tā shì yí wèi jié chū de kē xué jiā.He is an outstanding scientist.
- 。Zhè piān jié zuò shì tā huā le shí nián xiě chéng de.This masterpiece took him ten years to write.
- 。Tā de huà dōu shì jié zuò.His paintings are all masterpieces.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 傑; 杰 is its simplified writing.
The traditional form 傑 pairs 亻 (person) with 桀 as a sound part; the simplified 杰 is a later shorthand, so its current parts are not the original parts.
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