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杰作 (jié zuò) — masterpiece

Definition

noun
masterpiece

Examples

  • 杰作。
    Zhè fú huà bèi gōng rèn wèi tā de jié zuò.
    This painting is widely recognized as his masterpiece.
  • 杰作。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō shì wén xué shǐ shàng de jié zuò.
    This novel is a masterpiece in literary history.
  • 杰作。
    Tā de xīn zuò pǐn kān chēng jié zuò.
    His new work can be called a masterpiece.

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.

杰jiéoutstanding
作zuòwork

杰 means outstanding, and 作 is a work, so the word means a masterpiece.

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 傑; 杰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
桀
桀jié傑jié
Same sound today

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.

Open 杰 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →
Appears in
Art & Fine Arts

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