自画像 (zì huà xiàng) — self-portrait

Definition

noun
self-portrait
Measure word · 幅

Examples

  • 自画像。
    Yì shù jiā huà le yì fú zì huà xiàng.
    The artist painted a self-portrait.
  • 自画像。
    Zhè wèi huà jiā yǐ tā de zì huà xiàng wén míng shì jiè.
    This painter is famous worldwide for his self-portrait.
  • 自画像。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn lǎn le hěn duō zhù míng huà jiā de zì huà xiàng.
    The museum exhibited many famous painters' self-portraits.

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.

自zìself
画像portrait
画huàdraw像xiàngimage
动宾Verb + object

自 means self and 画像 means portrait, describing a portrait of oneself.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →

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 →

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