Chinese word

历史

Pronunciation

Pinyinlì shǐ

Meaning

  • nounhistory

Example

他对历史很感兴趣。tā duì lì shǐ hén gǎn xìng qù

He is very interested in history.

Illustration for 历史 (history)

More examples

每年有很多人参观这些历史遗迹。měi nián yǒu hěn duō rén cān guān zhè xiē lì shǐ yí jì

Many people visit these historical sites every year.

Core concept

The trace of past human activity organized into an account that can be studied.

Common phrases

  • 学习历史xué xí lì shǐ

    study history

  • 历史课lì shǐ kè

    history class

  • 历史遗迹lì shǐ yí jì

    historical site

Similar words

经历jīng lì: Personal events and life stages that have been directly lived through.
过去guò qù: An earlier time or the events that happened before the present.
经验jīng yàn: Useful knowledge and ability developed through doing things and gaining experience.

Definition in Chinese

记录和研究人类或社会过去发生的事情，也指这些过去事件的总体和相关资料。jì lù hé yán jiū rén lèi huò shè huì guò qù fā shēng de shì qíng yě zhǐ zhè xiē guò qù shì jiàn de zóng tǐ hé xiāng guān zī liào

Word origin

历史 (lìshǐ, "history") combines 历 (lì, "to pass through") + 史 (shǐ, "historical record"), giving one word for events that have unfolded and the account made from them.

Usage tips

  • 历史上 (lìshǐ shàng, "in history") often sets a time frame for a statement, corresponding to historically or in the past in English.

Opposites

Related words

  • 历史学家lì shǐ xué jiāhistoriannoun
  • 历史学lì shǐ xuéhistoriographynoun

Word lists with this word