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魔法 (mó fǎ) — magic; sorcery

Definition

魔法 is the fantasy/magical-world sense of 'magic' — a supernatural power like a wizard uses. 魔术 is stage magic tricks; 魔力 is the magical force/charisma something has.

noun
magicsorcery

Examples

  • 魔法。
    Tā xiāng xìn mó fǎ néng gǎi biàn mìng yùn.
    She believes magic can change destiny.
  • 魔法。
    Nà ge lǎo wū shī huì shǐ yòng mó fǎ.
    That old wizard knows how to use magic.
  • 魔法。
    Zhè shì yì běn guān yú mó fǎ de shū.
    This is a book about magic.

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.

魔mómagic
法fǎmethod

魔 refers to supernatural magic and 法 to method or art; together they name magic.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鬼鬼guǐdemon
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má魔mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

魔 pairs 鬼, meaning demon, with 麻, which gives the sound.

Open 魔 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →
Appears in
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