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片段 (piàn duàn) — fragment, excerpt, clip (of text, speech, video); episode (of a story, series)

Definition

A piece cut or taken from a larger whole — a passage of text, a clip of video, or an episode of a story. Compared with 插曲 (more figurative 'episode / interlude' as a brief incident), 片段 is concrete and countable: the actual segment itself.

noun
fragmentexcerptclip (of text, speech, video)episode (of a story, series)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 片段。
    Wǒ cóng nà běn shū lǐ dú le yí piàn duàn.
    I read a passage from that book.
  • 片段。
    Zhè ge piàn duàn shì diàn yǐng lǐ zuì jīng cǎi de bù fen.
    This clip is the most exciting part of the movie.
  • 片段。
    Diàn shì jù de zuì hòu yí piàn duàn ràng wǒ hěn gǎn dòng.
    The last episode of the TV series moved me deeply.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

片piànpiece
段duànsection

片段 puts 'piece' and 'section' together to mean a small part.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 片 →

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
殳殳shū
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng段duàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

段's shape shows 殳 as a hammer breaking a stone, with fragments flying off.

Open 段 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.