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留言 (liú yán) — to leave a message, to leave one's comments; message (noun)

Definition

留言 is 'to leave a message' or the message itself, usually on a website, guestbook, or forum. It's an active act of writing a note, while 信息 is the message content itself, and 传达 is the formal act of passing information along.

to leave a messageto leave one's commentsmessage (noun)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ zài wǎng zhàn shàng liú le gè yán.
    I left a message on the website.
  • 留言。
    Qǐng zài zhè lǐ liú yán.
    Please leave a message here.
  • 留言。
    Wǒ zuó tiān shōu dào le tā de liú yán.
    I received his message yesterday.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

留liúleave
言yánwords

留 means leave and 言 means words; leaving words behind yields a message.

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
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
卯
卯mǎo留liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

留 combines 田 (field) with 卯, which gives the sound.

Open 留 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Mail & Messaging2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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