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题目 (tí mù) — title; topic; subject (of a book, exam, discussion)

Definition

题目 covers 'title', 'topic', and 'exam question' — a broad everyday word. For a headline use 标题; for a focused theme use 主题; for an exam question alone use 题.

noun
titletopicsubject (of a book, exam, discussion)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 题目？
    Zhè běn shū de tí mù shì shén me?
    What is the title of this book?
  • 题目。
    Kǎo shì de dì yī gè tí mù hěn jiǎn dān.
    The first question of the exam is very simple.
  • 题目。
    Jīn tiān wǒ men tǎo lùn de tí mù hěn yǒu yì si.
    The topic we discussed today is very interesting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

题títitle
目mùitem

题 as title and 目 as item or heading together mean a title or question.

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.

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'.

Open 题 →

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

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.

Open 目 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5School & Education

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