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比作 (bǐ zuō) — to liken (someone/something) to; to compare (someone/something) to

Definition

Used with 把 to liken X to Y in a literary, metaphorical way (比作 + object of likeness). Heavier and more poetic than 比作's commoner spoken cousin 比 as…

verb
to liken (someone/something) toto compare (someone/something) to

Examples

  • 比作。
    Rén men cháng cháng bǎ qīng chūn bǐ zuō huā duǒ.
    People often liken youth to flowers.
  • 比作。
    Shī rén bǎ yuè liang bǐ zuō bái yù pán.
    The poet likened the moon to a white jade plate.
  • ，比作。
    Zài zhè ge gù shi lǐ, zuò zhě bǎ ài qíng bǐ zuō yì bēi kǔ jiǔ.
    In this story, the author compares love to a bitter drink.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

比bǐcompare
作zuòmake or take as

比 means compare, and 作 means make or take as, giving the sense to compare something as or to something.

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.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 匕匕bǐ

比 is two 匕 placed side by side. Chu Wan-li treats both as sound parts, while an old reading takes the side-by-side arrangement as putting things next to each other.

Open 比 →

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
Thinking & Cognition

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