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记事本 (jì shì běn) — notebook

Definition

noun
notebook
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 记事本。
    Wǒ zài jì shì běn shàng jì xià le míng tiān de huì yì shí jiān.
    I wrote down tomorrow's meeting time in my notebook.
  • 记事本。
    Zhè ge jì shì běn de fēng miàn hěn piào liang.
    The cover of this notebook is very pretty.
  • 记事本。
    Tā xí guàn yòng jì shì běn jì lù měi tiān de gōng zuò.
    He is used to recording his daily work in a notebook.

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.

记事record events
记jìrecord事shìevents
动宾Verb + object
本běnbook

记事 means recording events, and 本 is a book, so it is a notebook.

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 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →
Appears in
Reading & Writing

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