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讲话 (jiǎng huà) — speech; address

Definition

A formal speech or public address. Unlike 发言, which foregrounds the act of speaking, 讲话 names the speech as a thing; 演讲 is more rhetorical/oratorical.

noun
speechaddress
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 讲话，。
    Tā de jiǎng huà fēi cháng jīng cǎi, yíng dé le rè liè de zhǎng shēng.
    His speech was brilliant and won warm applause.
  • 讲话。
    Zhè wèi zǒng tǒng jiāng zài míng tiān fā biǎo yí duàn zhòng yào jiǎng huà.
    The president will deliver an important speech tomorrow.
  • 讲话？
    Nǐ zhǔn bèi le duō shǎo fēn zhōng de jiǎng huà?
    How many minutes of speech have you prepared?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

讲jiǎngspeak
话huàwords

讲 means speak and 话 means words; together they form speaking words, hence a speech or to talk.

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 講; 讲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
冓
冓gòu講jiǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 講 puts 言, say, beside 冓, which gave it its sound; the simplified 讲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 讲 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Communication & Speech2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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