喷壶 (pēn hú) — watering can | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

watering can

Measure word · 个

Examples

喷壶。
Tā yòng pēn hú gěi huā yuán lǐ de huā jiāo shuǐ.
He uses a watering can to water the flowers in the garden.
喷壶，。
Zhè ge pēn hú de pēn tóu huài le, xū yào huàn yí gè xīn de.
The nozzle of this watering can is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one.
喷壶，。
Tā tí zhe yì zhī zhuāng mǎn shuǐ de pēn hú, xiǎo xīn yì yì dì zǒu xiàng cài dì.
She carried a watering can full of water and walked carefully toward the vegetable patch.

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.

喷壶 joins 喷 (spray) with 壶 (pot), meaning a pot that sprays water.

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 噴; 喷 is its simplified writing.

口賁噴

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

賁

賁bì噴pēn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 噴 pairs 口, mouth, with 賁 for the sound; the simplified 喷 is a later shorthand.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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