背景 (bèi jǐng) — background, backdrop (of a picture, scene, etc.… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

背景 covers both the literal 'backdrop' of a scene and the figurative 'background, context' (family, education, connections). For personal history use 背景; for a thing's origin use 来历. 后台 is only the figurative 'connections/backer' sense.

noun

backgroundbackdrop (of a picture, scene, etc.)contextbackground (of a person's life, history, etc.)(figurative) powerful backerconnections behind the scenes

Measure word · 种

Examples

背景。
Zhè zhāng zhào piàn de bèi jǐng shì yí zuò shān.
The background of this photo is a mountain.
背景。
Wǒ men de bèi jǐng yí yàng.
We have the same background.
背景。
Zhè jiā gōng sī yǒu zhèng fǔ bèi jǐng.
This company has government backing.

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.

背 (back) qualifies 景 (scene), giving the scene behind a subject or the surrounding context.

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.

北月背

Meaning part形符xíngfú

月Written in full as肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

北

北běi背bèi

Same sound today

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

日京景

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng景jǐng

Same sound today

景 has 日 (sun) with 京, which gives its sound; it originally meant sunlight.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Abstract Concepts 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.