选集 (xuǎn jí) — anthology; selected works

Definition

noun
anthologyselected works
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 选集。
    Tā chū bǎn le yì běn shī gē xuǎn jí.
    He published an anthology of poetry.
  • 选集。
    Zhè tào xuǎn jí shōu lù le lǔ xùn de quán bù xiǎo shuō.
    This set of selected works includes all of Lu Xun's novels.
  • 选集。
    Lǎo shī zài kè táng shàng yòng le zhè piān zá wén xuǎn jí.
    The teacher used this anthology of essays in class.

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.

选xuǎnselected
集jícollection

选 means selected and 集 means collection, so it is a collection of chosen works.

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 選; 选 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
巽
巽xùn選xuǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 選 combines 止 with 巽, which gives the sound xùn; its sense of choosing is explained as rejecting or sending someone back. Simplified 选 is a shorthand.

Open 选 →

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

集 pairs 隹 (bird) with 木 (tree), showing birds on a tree, hence a gathering.

Open 集 →

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