游园会 (yóu yuán huì) — garden party; carnival (in a park); park fair

Definition

noun
garden partycarnival (in a park)park fair
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 游园会。
    Wǒ men xué xiào měi nián qiū tiān dōu huì jǔ bàn yí cì yóu yuán huì.
    Our school holds a garden party every autumn.
  • 游园会。
    Zhè ge yóu yuán huì yǒu hěn duō hǎo wán de yóu xì hé měi shí.
    This carnival has many fun games and delicious food.
  • 游园会，。
    Zuó tiān wǒ qù le gōng yuán lǐ de yóu yuán huì, fēi cháng rè nao.
    Yesterday I went to the carnival in the park; it was very lively.

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.

游园visit a park
游yóuvisit/stroll园yuángarden/park
动宾Verb + object
会huìgathering/event

游园 (visiting a park) and 会 (gathering) combine for a park fair.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
斿
斿yóu游yóu
Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Open 游 →

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
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán园yuán
Same sound today

In 园, 元 sits inside 囗, and 元 gives the sound.

Open 园 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →

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