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说明书 (shuō míng shū) — manual; (book of) directions; synopsis (of a play or film); specification (patent)

Definition

说明书 is a physical, book-style manual — measured with 本 — that comes with a product (e.g. a computer). For a spoken or written explanation itself, use 说明.

noun
manual(book of) directionssynopsis (of a play or film)specification (patent)
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • ，说明书。
    Nǐ mǎi diàn nǎo de shí hou, yí dìng yào xiān kàn shuō míng shū.
    When you buy a computer, you must read the manual first.
  • 说明书。
    Zhè běn diàn yǐng shuō míng shū jiǎn dān jiè shào le gù shi.
    This movie synopsis briefly introduces the story.
  • 说明书。
    Chǎn pǐn shuō míng shū de shuō míng yí dìng yào xiě dé fēi cháng qīng chǔ.
    The instructions in the product manual must be written very clearly.

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.

说明explain
说shuōspeak明míngclear
补充Verb + complement
书shūbook

说明 (make clear) and 书 (book) combine for a book that makes something clear.

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

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 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Reading & Writing

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