Definition
词 (cí) is a noun meaning 'word' — a unit of language that can be one or more syllables. It differs from 字 (zì) 'Chinese character', which is a single written symbol; a 词 is often made up of one or more 字. 词 also means 'lyrics' (of a song) or 'words, speech' (what someone says). Unlike 说话 (shuō huà, 'to speak'), which is a verb, 词 is a noun.
noun
wordlyricswordsspeech (as in what one says)
Measure word · 组, 个, 首
Easily confused
- 次cìsound-alike(classifier) time (used to count occurrences of an event)
- 此cǐsound-alikethis; these
- 刺cìsound-alike(noun) thorn; spine; prickle
- 赐cìsound-aliketo bestow, to confer (by a superior or heaven)
- 辞císound-aliketo resign (from a job)
Examples
- 词？Zhège cí nǐ rènshi ma?Do you know this word?
- 词。Zhè shǒu gē de cí hěn hǎo.The lyrics of this song are good.
- 词，。Tā méi cí le, bù zhīdào shuō shénme.He ran out of words and didn't know what to say.
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