单簧管 (dān huáng guǎn) — clarinet

Definition

noun
clarinet
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 单簧管。
    Tā xué dān huáng guǎn yǐ jīng sān nián le.
    He has been learning the clarinet for three years.
  • 单簧管。
    Zhè zhī dān huáng guǎn de yīn sè fēi cháng yōu měi.
    The tone of this clarinet is very beautiful.
  • 单簧管。
    Tā zài yuè duì lǐ chuī dān huáng guǎn.
    She plays the clarinet in the band.

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.

单簧single reed
单dānsingle簧huángreed
偏正Modifier + head
管guǎntube

'单' means single, '簧' means reed, and '管' means tube, naming the single-reed clarinet.

Characters in this word

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 簧 →

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
官
官guān管guǎn
Same sound today

管 has 竹 (bamboo) on top to show it relates to bamboo, and 官 gives its sound.

Open 管 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.