词语
cí yǔ · HSK 2
word
💬 词语 = word/term + speech/language
Compound of 词 (word, term) + 语 (speech, language). Together they form the general noun for a 'word' or 'expression' — from a single character up to a short phrase or technical term.
词 — speech radical 讠 (言) + 司 sī (phonetic)
词 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 讠 (simplified form of 言 'speech/words') gives the meaning, marking it as something related to language. The right side 司 supplies the sound, originally close to 'sī/cí'. Together it came to mean 'word', 'phrase', or a lyric/poem form.