渔翁 (yú wēng) — old fisherman (literary, poetic)

Definition

A literary, poetic word for 'old fisherman,' usually appearing in stories, idioms, or fables (e.g. 渔翁得利) rather than everyday speech.

noun
old fisherman (literary, poetic)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 渔翁，。
    Nà wèi yú wēng zuò zài hé biān, jìng jìng de diào yú.
    That old fisherman sat by the river, quietly fishing.
  • 渔翁。
    Zhè ge gù shi jiǎng de shì yí gè yú wēng hé yì tiáo jīn yú.
    This story is about an old fisherman and a goldfish.
  • ，渔翁。
    Yù bàng xiāng zhēng, yú wēng dé lì.
    When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits.

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.

渔yúfishing
翁wēngold man

An old man associated with fishing, hence a fisherman in literary usage.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 漁; 渔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 漁 pairs 氵 (water) with 魚 (fish), and 魚 gives the sound. The simplified 渔 is a later shorthand.

Open 渔 →

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
羽羽yǔwings
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng翁wēng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

翁 combines 羽 (wings) with 公, which gives the sound. Its shape originally pointed to feathers, and it later came to be used for “old man” and related senses.

Open 翁 →

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