语法 (yǔ fǎ) — grammar

Definition

noun
grammar

Examples

  • 语法？
    Nǐ yǔ fǎ xué dé zěn me yàng?
    How are you doing with your grammar study?
  • 语法。
    Hàn yǔ yǔ fǎ hé yīng yǔ chā bié hěn dà.
    Chinese grammar and English grammar are very different.
  • 语法。
    Lǎo shī gěi wǒ men jiǎng le hěn duō yǔ fǎ zhī shi.
    The teacher taught us a lot of grammar knowledge.

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.

语yǔlanguage
法fǎrules

语 (language) names the field of 法 (rules), giving grammar.

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 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
吾
吾wú語yǔ
Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Open 语 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Language

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