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盛典 (shèng diǎn) — grand ceremony; grand occasion

Definition

盛典 is a formal, written noun for a 'grand ceremony' or 'grand occasion' — larger and more solemn than a plain 典礼, and typically used in news or official writing rather than everyday speech.

noun
grand ceremonygrand occasion

Examples

  • 盛典。
    Ào yùn huì de kāi mù shèng diǎn xī yǐn le quán qiú de mù guāng.
    The opening grand ceremony of the Olympics attracted global attention.
  • 盛典。
    Zhè cì bān jiǎng shèng diǎn yāo qǐng le zhòng duō míng xīng cān jiā.
    This award grand ceremony invited many celebrities to attend.
  • 盛典。
    Tā yì shēng zhōng zuì zhòng yào de shèng diǎn jiù shì dà xué bì yè diǎn lǐ.
    The most important grand occasion in her life was the university graduation ceremony.

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.

盛shènggrand
典diǎnceremony

“盛” (grand) specifies the kind of “典” (ceremony).

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
皿皿mǐn
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng盛shèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

盛 combines 成 as a sound part with 皿 as a meaning part; the 皿 side points to a vessel, which fits meanings such as hold and fill.

Open 盛 →

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

  • 冊冊cèbooks
  • 丌丌qítable

典 puts 冊 (books) on a 丌 (table), showing official books resting on a table.

Open 典 →
Appears in
Festivals & Holidays

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