游记 (yóu jì) — travel notes, travelogue

Definition

noun
travel notestravelogue
Easily confused

Examples

  • 游记。
    Tā xiě le yì běn guān yú xī zàng de yóu jì.
    He wrote a travelogue about Tibet.
  • 游记。
    Zhè běn yóu jì miáo xiě le ōu zhōu gè dì de fēng tǔ rén qíng.
    This travelogue describes the customs and cultures of various places in Europe.
  • 游记，。
    Wǒ xǐ huan zài lǚ xíng shí xiě yóu jì, jì lù měi tiān de jiàn wén.
    I like to write travel notes while traveling, recording daily experiences.

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yóutravel
记jìrecord

游 means travel and 记 means record, giving a record of travel.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →

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