题材 (tí cái) — subject matter; theme (of a literary or artisti… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

题材 is the 'subject matter' of a creative work — the raw material an artist or writer draws on, like a novelist's 题材 of war. Compare 主题 (the work's central theme/idea) and 题目 (title or exam question).

noun

subject mattertheme (of a literary or artistic work)

Examples

题材。
Zhè wèi zuò jiā zuì xǐ huan xiě ài qíng tí cái.
This writer loves most to write about romantic subject matter.
题材，。
Nà bù xiǎo shuō de tí cái fēi cháng shēn kè, zhí dé yì dú.
The subject matter of that novel is very profound and worth reading.
题材。
Zhè wèi huà jiā de tí cái dà duō lái zì dà zì rán.
Most of this painter's subject matter comes from nature.

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.

材cáimaterial

题 as topic and 材 as material combine to mean the subject material of a work.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 題; 题 is its simplified writing.

是頁題

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

是

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'.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木才材

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

才

才cái材cái

Same sound today

材 combines 木, wood, with 才, cái, as its sound part.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Literature & Poetry

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