本字

běnzì

noun #66,973

Meanings

1 original form of a character, before a later or borrowed form replaced it

Characters

Examples

HSK 6

研究方言时，学者常常要考证一个词的本字。

Yánjiū fāngyán shí, xuézhě chángcháng yào kǎozhèng yí ge cí de běnzì.

When studying dialects, scholars often have to trace the original character for a word.

HSK 7-9

“莫”是“暮”的本字，原来的意思是太阳落山。

" Mò " shì " mù " de běnzì, yuánlái de yìsi shì tàiyang luòshān.

莫 is the original form of 暮; it first meant the sun going down.

Tips

usage

A 本字 was often taken over by another word, so a new character was made for the old meaning: 然 first meant "to burn", and once it came to mean "so", 燃 was created by adding 火. Compare 通假字, a character borrowed for its sound, and 本义, a character's original meaning.

Stroke Order

本 běn

字 zì