三等奖 (sān děng jiǎng) — third prize, third-class award

Definition

noun
third prizethird-class award
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 三等奖。
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng huò dé le sān děng jiǎng.
    He won third prize in the competition.
  • 三等奖。
    Zhè cì sān děng jiǎng de jiǎng jīn shì yì qiān yuán.
    The prize money for this third prize is 1000 yuan.
  • 三等奖。
    Lǎo shī gěi měi gè cān yù de tóng xué dōu fā le sān děng jiǎng.
    The teacher gave each participating student a third prize.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

三等third grade
三sānthree等děnggrade
偏正Modifier + head
奖jiǎngprize

The third-grade and prize parts combine to mean an award of the third rank.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì等děng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Open 等 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獎; 奖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
將
將jiāng獎jiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 獎 pairs 將 as a sound part with 犬, a dog; the simplified 奖 is a later shorthand. The evidence says the dog part's meaning is unclear, perhaps referring to guiding a dog by voice.

Open 奖 →

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