题 (tí) — exam question, test problem; topic, subject (of discussion)
Definition
题 alone is uncommon in modern speech — it's mostly seen in compounds like 试题, 话题, 主题, 题目. As a standalone noun it means 'exam question' or 'topic of discussion'; 问题 is the everyday word for 'question/issue'.
noun
exam questiontest problemtopicsubject (of discussion)
Measure word · 个, 道
Easily confused
Examples
- 题。Dì yī tí hěn róng yì.The first question is very easy.
- 题。Zhè dào tí wǒ bú huì zuò.I don't know how to do this problem.
- 。Wǒ men shuō yí xià zhè ge huà tí.Let's talk about this topic.
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 題; 题 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
是
是shì題tí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
For 题, the traditional form 題 uses 是 for sound and 頁 for head, and means 'forehead'.
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