警句 (jǐng jù) — aphorism; epigram; wise saying

Definition

noun

aphorismepigramwise saying

Measure word · 句

警句。
Zhè jù jǐng jù ràng wǒ míng bai le hěn duō dào lǐ.
This aphorism made me understand a lot.
警句。
Gǔ dài de zhōng guó wén xué jiā liú xià le xǔ duō yǒu míng de jǐng jù.
Ancient Chinese writers left behind many famous aphorisms.
警句。
Lǎo shī yòng yí jù jǐng jù tí xǐng wǒ men yào zhēn xī shí jiān.
The teacher used an aphorism to remind us to cherish time.

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.

句jùsentence

警 gives warning and 句 gives a sentence, so the word means an admonitory sentence.

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.

敬言警

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspoken language, speech

Sound part声符shēngfú

敬

Same sound today

警 places 言 (speech) below 敬; 敬 gives the sound.

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

丩丩jiūto entangle

Sound part声符shēngfú

口

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

句 pairs 丩, originally two entangled ropes and giving a sense of entangling, with 口 as the sound part.