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视频 (shì pín) — video

Definition

视频 refers to the digital video content itself (a video clip, online video, or recording). 影片 is a finished film or movie; 录像 is the act of recording video or the recording as an object.

noun
video
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 视频。
    Wǒ zài wǎng shàng kàn le yí gè yǒu qù de shì pín.
    I watched an interesting video online.
  • 视频？
    Nǐ néng bǎ zhè ge shì pín fēn xiǎng gěi wǒ ma?
    Can you share this video with me?
  • 视频。
    Tā yòng shǒu jī lù le yí duàn shì pín.
    He recorded a video with his phone.

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.

视shìvisual
频pínfrequency

A technical coinage from 视 ('visual') and 频 ('frequency'), used for recorded moving-image content.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 視; 视 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
示
示shì視shì
Same sound today

The story is about the traditional form 視: it combines 見, meaning see, with 示, which gives the sound shì.

Open 视 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頻; 频 is its simplified writing.

For 频, the traditional form 頻 came from an older form showing a person near water and meaning 'on the verge'; one part was later removed to mark the 'frequent' use.

Open 频 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Film & Theater5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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