背 (bèi) — (noun) back (of the body); (verb) to recite from memory
Definition
As a noun 背 (bèi) means the back of the body or an object's reverse side — concrete physical sense, unlike 后/后面 which mean 'behind' as a position. The same character as a verb means 'to recite from memory'.
noun
back (of the body)
verb
to recite from memory
Examples
- 背。Tā de bèi hěn téng.His back hurts a lot.
- 背？Nǐ néng bèi chū zhè shǒu shī ma?Can you recite this poem from memory?
- 背。Tā bèi duì zhe wǒ.He turned his back to me.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
背 was first written as 北; 北 gives the sound, and 肉 (meat, written as 月 here) was added to separate it from 北’s north meaning.
Appears in
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