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消息 (xiāo xi) — news; information

Definition

A fairly general word for 'news' or 'information' — often about a person's situation or an event. 信息 focuses on data/information in technical or abstract contexts; 新闻 is reported news in the media.

noun
newsinformation
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 消息。
    Wǒ tīng dào yí gè hǎo xiāo xi.
    I heard some good news.
  • 消息？
    Nǐ yǒu yì tiáo xīn xiāo xi ma?
    Do you have a new message?
  • 消息。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi hěn zhòng yào.
    This news is very important.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

消xiāodecrease
息xīincrease

消 refers to decrease and 息 to increase, so together they name changing events, hence news.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào消xiāo
Same sound today

消 has 氵 (water) beside 肖. The water part connects to putting out or making something vanish, and 肖 gives the sound.

Open 消 →

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

In 息, 自 is nose and 心 is heart, showing breath or life passing through one's nose.

Open 息 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsMail & Messaging2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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