HSK Level 2

词语

cí yǔ

words and expressions

Mobile & Tablet App

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Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.

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Native speaker audio pronunciation

Interactive writing recognition

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Character writing practice in mobile app

Example Sentences

这个词语的意思是什么?

zhège cíyǔ de yìsi shì shénme?

What is the meaning of this word?

我不会说这个词语。

wǒ bùhuì shuō zhège cíyǔ.

I can't say this word.

这个词语很难记。

zhège cíyǔ hěn nán jì.

This word is hard to remember.

Synonyms

词儿 (cí er)

word

词儿 (cí er)

term

Antonyms

实词 (shí cí)

content word

虚词 (xū cí)

function word

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 词语 (cíyǔ) is a compound word consisting of two characters: 词 (cí) and 语 (yǔ). The character 词 originally meant "to cut" or "to carve", and was later extended to mean "word" or "term". The character 语 originally meant "to speak" or "to talk", and was later extended to mean "language" or "speech". Thus, the compound word 词语 literally means "word-language" or "word-speech", and is used to refer to words or terms in a language.In modern Chinese, 词语 is used in a variety of contexts to refer to words or terms. For example, it can be used to refer to individual words, such as the word "你好" (nǐ hǎo, "hello"), or to groups of words, such as the phrase "我爱你" (wǒ ài nǐ, "I love you"). It can also be used to refer to the vocabulary of a language, such as the "汉语词语" (Hànyǔ cíyǔ, "Chinese vocabulary").The word 词语 is an important part of the Chinese language, and is used in a wide variety of contexts. Understanding the etymology of this word can help learners to better understand the meaning and usage of this word in Chinese.