咨询台 (zī xún tāi) — information desk; inquiry counter

Definition

noun
information deskinquiry counter
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 咨询台？
    Qǐng wèn zī xún tāi zài nǎ lǐ?
    Excuse me, where is the information desk?
  • 咨询台，。
    Tā dào zī xún tāi wèn lù de shí hou, gōng zuò rén yuán hěn rè qíng.
    When he went to the information desk to ask for directions, the staff were very warm.
  • 咨询台。
    Jī chǎng de zī xún tāi měi tiān jiē dài dà liàng lǚ kè.
    The airport's information desk receives a large number of travelers every day.

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.

咨询inquire
咨zīconsult询xúninquire
联合Side by side
台táicounter

咨 and 询 both mean to inquire, and 台 is a counter, forming an inquiry counter.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì咨
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

咨 is built from 口, a mouth, and 次, which gives its sound.

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 詢; 询 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
旬
旬xún詢xún
Same sound today

The traditional form 詢 pairs 言 (speech) with 旬, which gives its sound; the simplified 询 is a shorthand.

Open 询 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

Open 台 →

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