analects

analects — plural noun

1. a small group of short written pieces, sayings, or passages collected from a par

1.複數名詞B2
釋義

a small group of short written pieces, sayings, or passages collected from a particular writer, period, or cultural tradition — the most famous example being The Analects of Confucius (論語), an ancient Chinese book that records the master's conversations and teachings on ethics, government, and personal conduct.

例句

The Analects of Confucius contains hundreds of short sayings on ethics, family relationships, and good government.

the Analects + of [author] — standard title pattern

Students in Professor Okonkwo's philosophy class spent the semester studying passages from the Analects.

collocation: passages from the Analects

同義詞
  • anthology

    broader; an anthology may contain complete works, whereas analects are specifically short fragments or passages

  • miscellany

    more general; a miscellany lacks the thematic coherence that analects often have

  • collected sayings

    more explanatory and less formal; explicitly identifies the genre of wisdom literature

文法句型

the Analects + of + [author/tradition]

用法筆記

In most modern contexts, 'analects' appears in the capitalized title 'the Analects of Confucius', which is treated as a singular proper noun (e.g. 'the Analects is studied worldwide'). In general literary use, 'analects' remains a plural noun meaning 'collected fragments'.

常見錯誤

❌I read Analects of Confucius last semester.
✅I read the Analects of Confucius last semester.
💡The title always requires the definite article 'the'.
❌The Analects are considered an important Chinese classic.
✅The Analects is considered an important Chinese classic.
💡When referring to the book title, treat it as a singular proper noun.