两用 (liǎng yòng) — to serve dual purposes; dual-use

Definition

verb
to serve dual purposesdual-use

Examples

  • 两用，。
    Zhè tái jī qì kě yǐ liǎng yòng, jì néng xǐ yī yòu néng hōng gān.
    This machine can serve dual purposes – it can both wash and dry clothes.
  • 两用，，。
    Wǒ men mǎi le yì zhāng liǎng yòng shā fā chuáng, bái tiān zuò shā fā, wǎn shàng dāng chuáng.
    We bought a dual-purpose sofa bed – it's a sofa during the day and a bed at night.
  • 两用，。
    Zhè zhǒng liǎng yòng bēi bāo kě yǐ biàn chéng shǒu tí xiāng, hěn fāng biàn chū chāi.
    This kind of dual-purpose backpack can turn into a suitcase – very convenient for business trips.

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.

两liǎngtwo
用yònguse

两 means two and 用 means use, so the word means having two uses.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 兩; 两 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 兩 is described as combining 一 and 㒳. The simplified 两 is a later abbreviation.

Open 两 →

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

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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