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后排 (hòu pái) — back row

Definition

noun
back row
Measure word · 排

Examples

  • 后排。
    Diàn yǐng yuàn de qián pái hé hòu pái jià gé bù yí yàng.
    The front row and back row prices at the movie theater are different.
  • ，后排。
    Zài gōng jiāo chē shàng, lǎo rén tōng cháng zuò zài hòu pái bǐ jiào ān quán.
    On the bus, elderly people usually sit in the back row for safety.
  • 后排。
    hòu pái De chéng kè qǐng wǎng hòu mén yí dòng.
    Passengers in the back row, please move toward the rear door.

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.

后hòuback
排páirow

“后” marks the back position and “排” is a row, so the phrase means the row at the back.

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 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi排pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

Open 排 →
Appears in
Order & Arrangement

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