Level 7 · Lesson 2

字和词
Characters and words

字组成词，词组成句子。

A 字 is a written syllable, a 词 is a unit of meaning, a 句子 is a unit of use.

读 · Read

写下“我喝咖啡”，你一共写了四个方块字。可是这句话里只有三个词：“我”、“喝”、“咖啡”。“咖”单独没有意思，“啡”单独也没有意思，两个字合起来才是一个词。字的数目和词的数目常常不一样——这是学汉语的人最早遇到、也最容易弄错的一件事。

Write 我喝咖啡 and you have written four squares. But the sentence holds only three words: 我, 喝 and 咖啡. 咖 means nothing on its own and neither does 啡; only together do the two characters make a word. The number of characters and the number of words are often different — the first thing a learner of Chinese meets, and the easiest one to get wrong.

讲解 · Explanation

古时候的汉语，一个字差不多就是一个词。今天的汉语不一样了：大部分词是两个字。“学”是一个字，也是一个词——我学汉语。“学生”是两个字，合起来才是一个词，“生”在这里不单独用。“老师”“朋友”“电脑”“时间”都是这样。

In the old language one character was more or less one word. Today's Chinese is different: most words are two characters. 学 is a character and a word on its own — 我学汉语. 学生 is two characters that make a single word, and the 生 in it is not used alone. 老师, 朋友, 电脑, 时间 are all built the same way.

词再合起来，就成了句子。“我”“喝”“咖啡”三个词排在一起，就是“我喝咖啡”。所以汉语有三层：字组成词，词组成句子。你写汉字的时候在第一层，你说话的时候在第三层，中间那一层最容易被人忘掉——而语法讲的正是中间那一层。

Words in turn combine into sentences: 我, 喝 and 咖啡 lined up give 我喝咖啡. So Chinese has three layers — characters make words, words make sentences. You are on the first layer when you write, on the third when you speak, and the middle layer is the one people forget. Grammar is mostly about that middle layer.

规则 · The rules

一个汉字写一个音；一个词可以是一个字，也可以是两个字或者更多。

规则 1

“书”是一个字，也是一个词；“学生”是两个字，一个词；“图书馆”是三个字，一个词。

书 is one character and also one word. 学生 is two characters making one word. 图书馆 is three characters making one word. The square is the writing; the word is the meaning.

字组成词，词组成句子。

规则 2

“咖”和“啡”组成“咖啡”；“我”“喝”“咖啡”组成“我喝咖啡”。

咖 and 啡 make up 咖啡; 我, 喝 and 咖啡 make up 我喝咖啡. Three layers, one on top of the next — and grammar lives on the top two.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
汉字	Chinese character	一个汉字写一个音
字	character, one written square	“学”是一个字
词	word, the unit of meaning	“学生”是一个词
句子	sentence	一个句子；词组成句子
组成	to make up, to be composed of	字组成词，词组成句子
单独	alone, on its own	“咖”单独没有意思
比如	for example	比如“老师”、“朋友”
数目	number, count	字的数目和词的数目

练习 · Practice

“老师”是几个字？几个词？ How many characters, and how many words, is 老师?

下面哪个词的每个字单独都没有意思？ In which of these does neither character mean anything on its own?

字组成词，词组成 ________。 Fill in the third layer.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'Two characters make up one word.'

汉字、字、词、句子、组成 Match each term to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

找五个你已经会的词，比如“朋友”“电脑”“图书馆”“天气”“医生”。每一个都数一数：几个字？再问自己：里面的字单独用吗？最后用其中三个词各说一个句子。

Pick five words you already know — 朋友, 电脑, 图书馆, 天气, 医生. Count the characters in each. Then ask whether those characters are ever used alone. Finally build one sentence with each of three of them, and notice that you are now working on all three layers at once.