要事 (yào shì) — important matter

Definition

noun
important matter

Examples

  • 要事。
    Jīn tiān kāi huì tǎo lùn de shì jǐ jiàn yào shì.
    Today's meeting discusses several important matters.
  • 要事,?
    Wǒ yǒu yào shì yào gēn nǐ tán, néng jiàn miàn ma?
    I have an important matter to discuss with you — can we meet?
  • 要事,。
    Tā yīn wèi chǔ lǐ gōng sī yào shì, wú fǎ lái cān jiā jù huì.
    He couldn't attend the party because he was handling company important matters.

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.

要yàoimportant
事shìmatter

要 means important and 事 means matter, so the word names an important matter.

Characters in this word

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

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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