锐 (ruì) — (bound form) sharp, keen; (bound form) rapid, fast
Definition
锐 (ruì) is a bound morpheme meaning 'sharp, keen' — it doesn't stand alone but combines with other characters, as in 锐利 (sharp), 敏锐 (keen), 锐减 (sharp drop). Use it to intensify or sharpen a related noun.
bound form
sharpkeenrapidfast
Easily confused
- 蜕tuìlook-aliketo shed; to cast off (as a bound morpheme in words like 蜕皮, 蜕变)
- 瑞ruìsound-alike(bound form) auspicious (used in literary compounds)
- 悦yuèlook-alikehappy, delighted (bound form, used in compounds like 喜悦, 愉悦)
- 芮ruìsound-alikea surname
- 脱tuōlook-aliketo take off (clothing, shoes, accessories)
- 税shuìlook-aliketax
Examples
- 。Zhè bǎ dāo de dāo kǒu fēi cháng ruì lì.The blade of this knife is very sharp.
- 锐。Tā de guān chá lì fēi cháng ruì mǐn.His observation ability is very keen.
- 锐。Gōng sī jīn nián de lì rùn ruì jiǎn le bǎi fēn zhī sān shí.The company's profit sharply decreased by 30% this year.
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 銳; 锐 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
釒釒jīngold
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì銳ruì
Same sound today
The traditional form 銳 pairs 釒, a gold sign, with 兌 as the sound part; the simplified 锐 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.
Appears in
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