凭单 (píng dān) — voucher; receipt; certificate

Definition

noun
voucherreceiptcertificate
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 凭单。
    Qǐng tí jiāo fù kuǎn píng dān.
    Please submit the payment voucher.
  • 凭单。
    Zhè shì nín gòu mǎi shāng pǐn de píng dān.
    This is the receipt for the goods you purchased.
  • 凭单。
    Cún kuǎn píng dān qǐng tuǒ shàn bǎo guǎn.
    Please keep the deposit certificate safely.

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.

凭píngevidence
单dānbill

凭 (evidence) and 单 (bill/document) combine to denote a paper voucher or receipt.

Characters in this word

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 憑; 凭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
馮
馮féng憑píng
Same sound today

In the traditional form 憑, 心 relates to the heart or mind, and 馮 gives the sound. The simplified 凭 is a later abbreviation, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 凭 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →

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