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艺术 (yì shù) — art

Definition

艺术 (yìshù) is 'art' as a broad field (modern art, exhibitions, studying art). It is wider than 美术 ('fine arts'/visual arts) and more abstract than 手艺 ('craft' as a trade skill).

noun
art

Examples

  • 艺术。
    Wǒ duì xiàn dài yì shù hěn gǎn xìng qù.
    I am very interested in modern art.
  • ，。
    Xià zhōu mò yǒu yí gè yì shù zhǎn lǎn, wǒ men qù kàn ba.
    There's an art exhibition next weekend, let's go see it.
  • 艺术，。
    Tā xué le sān nián yì shù, huà dé hěn piào liang.
    He studied art for three years and paints beautifully.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

艺yìart
术shùtechnique

艺 and 术 both point to skill or craft, and together they name art.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
乙
乙yǐ艺yì
Same sound today

In 艺, the top 艹 points to plants, and the lower 乙 gives the sound.

Open 艺 →

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 術; 术 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíngstreet, path
Sound part声符shēngfú
朮
朮zhú術shù
Same sound today

The traditional form 術 has 行 (street, path) beside 朮, which gives the sound; the simplified 术 is a later shorthand.

Open 术 →
Appears in
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