八音盒 (bā yīn hé) — music box | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

music box

Measure word · 个

八音盒。
Tā shōu dào le yí gè jīng zhì de bā yīn hé.
She received a delicate music box.
八音盒。
bā yīn hé Lǐ chuán chū le yōu měi de xuán lǜ.
A beautiful melody came out of the music box.
八音盒。
Zhè ge bā yīn hé shì yé ye liú gěi wǒ de jì niàn pǐn.
This music box is a souvenir left to me by my grandfather.

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.

八音eight tones

偏正Modifier + head

八 ('eight') and 音 ('tone') make 八音 ('eight tones'), which with 盒 ('box') forms a music box.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

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

音 adds a short stroke that seals the mouth-like part, showing a covered or muffled sound rather than speech.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.