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石像 (shí xiàng) — stone statue

Definition

noun
stone statue
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 石像。
    Zhè zuò shí xiàng shì gǔ dài diāo kè de.
    This stone statue was carved in ancient times.
  • 石像。
    Gōng yuán lǐ yǒu yì zūn shí xiàng.
    There is a stone statue in the park.
  • 石像。
    Zhè zūn shí xiàng kàn qǐ lái hěn gǔ lǎo.
    This stone statue looks very ancient.

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.

石shístone
像xiàngstatue

石 marks the material, 像 marks a carved figure, so the word means a statue made of stone.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
象
象xiàng像
Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

Open 像 →
Appears in
Art & Fine Arts

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