逊 (xùn) — (bound form) to abdicate (used in 逊位); (bound form) to be inferior; less than (used in 逊色); (bound form) modest; humble (used in 谦逊, 出言不逊)
Definition
Bound morpheme used only in set compounds. 逊色 means 'inferior/less than' (compare X with Y); 谦逊 means 'modest/humble'; 逊位 means 'to abdicate'.
bound form
to abdicate (used in 逊位)to be inferiorless than (used in 逊色)modesthumble (used in 谦逊, 出言不逊)
Examples
- 。Tā de chéng jì háo bú xùn sè.His grades are not at all inferior.
- 。Tā fēi cháng qiān xùn.He is very modest.
- 逊。Huáng dì xùn wèi le.The emperor abdicated.
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 遜; 逊 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòto walk
Sound part声符shēngfú
孫
孫sūn遜xùn
Same sound today
The traditional form 遜 pairs 辵 (to walk) with 孫, a part used for the sound. The simplified 逊 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.
Appears in
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