通知书 (tōng zhī shū) — notice; notification letter

Definition

noun
noticenotification letter
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 通知书
    Wǒ zuó tiān shōu dào le yì fēng tōng zhī shū.
    I received a notice yesterday.
  • 通知书
    Xué xiào gěi měi gè xué shēng fā le yí fèn tōng zhī shū.
    The school sent a notice to each student.
  • 通知书
    Zhè fèn tōng zhī shū shàng xiě zhe kāi huì de rì qī hé shí jiān.
    This notice states the date and time of the meeting.

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.

通知notice
tōngcommunicatezhīknow
联合Coordinate
shūdocument

通知, notice, and 书, document, combine to mean a written notice.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full aschuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
yǒngtōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

通 pairs 辶, a part associated with movement, with 甬, which gives the sound.

Open 通 →

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

An early form of 知 showed 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to a child to pass on knowledge. The 子 part was dropped, and the 大 part changed shape.

Open 知 →

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
writing brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
zhěshū
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 →

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