古物 (gǔ wù) — ancient objects; antiquities | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ancient objectsantiquities

Measure word · 件

Examples

古物。
Zhè jiā bó wù guǎn zhǎn chū le xǔ duō gǔ wù.
This museum displays many ancient objects.
古物。
Tā duì gǔ wù fēi cháng yǒu yán jiū.
He has done a lot of research on antiquities.
古物。
Zhè xiē gǔ wù shì cóng dì xià chū tǔ de.
These antiquities were unearthed from underground.

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.

古gǔancient

古 “ancient” describes 物 “thing”, giving an ancient object.

Characters in this word

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

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

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

牛勿物

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù物wù

Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Appears in

History Miscellaneous Objects

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