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标致 (biāo zhì) — beautiful, pretty (of a woman)

Definition

Almost always describes a woman, especially her facial features or build; similar to 漂亮 but more literary and specific to female appearance.

adjective
beautifulpretty (of a woman)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 标致。
    Nà wèi nǚ shì cháng dé fēi cháng biāo zhì.
    That lady is very beautiful.
  • 标致。
    Huà zhōng de nǚ zǐ shí fēn biāo zhì.
    The woman in the painting is very pretty.
  • 标致。
    Tā chuān qí páo de yàng zi zhēn biāo zhì.
    She looks really beautiful in a qipao.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

标biāobearing
致zhìcharm

标 and 致 both refer to bearing and charm; together they form 标致.

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 標; 标 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
票
票piào標biāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 標 pairs 木 with 票, and 票 gives the sound; the simplified 标 is the modern form of that traditional character.

Open 标 →

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
攵Written in full as攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì致zhì
Same sound today

致 pairs 至, used for its sound, with 攵, written in full as 攴.

Open 致 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Appearance

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