variant character; folk character; non-standard form
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
variant form of a Chinese character; folk character; vulgar character (as opposed to standard orthography)
technicalRefers to non-standard or simplified forms of Chinese characters used in folk writing, popular literature, or informal contexts, as distinguished from the standard forms (正体字). Many俗字 were historically used in handwritten texts and popular fiction, and some eventually became the basis for modern simplified characters.
Xǔ许
duō多
sú俗
zì字
bǐ比
zhèng正
zì字
gèng更
róng容
yì易
shū书
xiě写
。
Many variant characters are easier to write than standard ones.
Zhè这
bù部
xiǎo小
shuō说
lǐ里
yòng用
le了
bù不
shǎo少
dāng当
shí时
de的
sú俗
zì字
。
This novel uses many of the variant characters from that time.
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Sú俗
zì字
hé和
zhèng正
zì字
de的
guān关
xì系
shì是
dòng动
tài态
biàn变
huà化
de的
。
The relationship between variant and standard characters changes dynamically.