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诗词 (shī cí) — classical Chinese poetry (including shi and ci forms); verse

Definition

诗词 (shī cí) refers specifically to classical Chinese shi and ci verse. For general modern poetry use 诗歌; 诗 alone is the broader everyday word for 'poem'.

noun
classical Chinese poetry (including shi and ci forms)verse

Examples

  • 诗词。
    Tā xǐ huan xiě shī cí.
    He likes writing classical poetry.
  • 诗词。
    Zhè wèi shī rén de shī cí hěn yǒu míng.
    This poet's verse is very famous.
  • 诗词。
    Wǒ men zài wén xué kè shàng xué xí shī cí.
    We study classical poetry in literature class.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

诗shīpoem
词cílyric

诗 and 词 are two classical verse forms; together they mean verse.

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 詩; 诗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì詩shī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詩 combines 言 (speech) with 寺 as a sound part, because poetry is a kind of speech; the simplified 诗 is a later abbreviation.

Open 诗 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

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