喷水池 (pēn shuǐ chí) — fountain

Definition

noun
fountain
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 喷水池。
    Gōng yuán zhōng yāng yǒu yí gè měi lì de pēn shuǐ chí.
    There is a beautiful fountain in the center of the park.
  • 喷水池。
    Hái zi men xǐ huan zài pēn shuǐ chí páng biān wán shuǎ.
    Children like to play next to the fountain.
  • 喷水池，。
    Zhè zuò pēn shuǐ chí de shè jì fēi cháng dú tè, xī yǐn le zhòng duō yóu kè.
    The design of this fountain is very unique, attracting many tourists.

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.

喷水spray water
喷pēnspray水shuǐwater
动宾Verb + object
池chípool

喷水 describes water being sprayed, and 池 is the basin, together naming a fountain.

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.

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.

Open 喷 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě池chí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

池 pairs 氵 (water) with 也, which provides the sound.

Open 池 →

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