诀 (jué) — (bound form) a formula, mnemonic, or secret trick (in 口诀, 诀窍); (bound form) farewell, parting (in 诀别, 永诀)
Definition
A bound morpheme meaning 'mnemonic formula' (in 口诀) or 'secret trick' (in 诀窍); the second sense 诀别 means 'farewell, final parting'.
bound form
a formulamnemonicor secret trick (in 口诀, 诀窍)farewellparting (in 诀别, 永诀)
Easily confused
- 快kuàilook-alike(adjective) fast, quick
- 绝juésound-alike(verb) to cut off; to vanish; to become extinct
- 块kuàilook-alike(classifier) for pieces or chunks of something (e.g., bread, meat, watermelon)
- 决juésound-aliketo decide, to determine (bound form; used in 决定, 决心, etc.)
- 掘juésound-aliketo dig; to excavate
- 爵juésound-alike(bound form) ancient bronze wine vessel with three legs and a loop handle, used in rituals
Examples
- ，。Xué xí zhōng wén shí, yòng kǒu jué hěn yǒu bāng zhù.When learning Chinese, using oral mnemonics is very helpful.
- 。Tā zhǎng wò le zhè ge háng yè de jué qiào.He has mastered the tricks of this industry.
- 。Tā men hán lèi jué bié le.They said a tearful farewell.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 訣; 诀 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
夬
夬guài訣jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 訣 puts 言 beside 夬: 言 is the meaning part, and 夬 gives the sound. The simplified 诀 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.
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