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长篇 (cháng piān) — a long piece of writing (e.g., a novel, a lengthy article)

Definition

长篇 is a measure/attributive word meaning 'long-form (piece of writing)' — used before nouns like 小说, 文章, 作品 to signal a full-length work rather than a 短篇 (short piece).

noun
a long piece of writing (e.g., a novel, a lengthy article)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā xiě le yí bù cháng piān xiǎo shuō.
    He wrote a novel.
  • 长篇。
    Zhè piān cháng piān wén zhāng tǎo lùn le jīng jì wèn tí.
    This lengthy article discusses economic issues.
  • 长篇。
    Tā de cháng piān zuò pǐn huò dé le wén xué jiǎng.
    Her long work won a literary award.

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.

长chánglong
篇piānpiece

长 and 篇 combine to mean a long written piece.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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
竹竹zhú
Sound part声符shēngfú
扁
扁biǎn篇piān
Same sound today

篇 combines 竹 with 扁: 竹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 扁 is the part used for the sound.

Open 篇 →
Appears in
Literature & Poetry

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