天窗 (tiān chuāng) — skylight (on a roof or ceiling); sunroof (on a…

Definition

Literally 'sky window': a skylight in a roof/ceiling, or the sunroof of a car. In the idiom 打开天窗说亮话 it means being open and frank.

noun

skylight (on a roof or ceiling)sunroof (on a car)

Measure word · 扇

，天窗。
Zhù zài zhè jiān gé lóu lǐ, wǎn shàng kě yǐ tòu guò tiān chuāng kàn dào xīng xing.
Living in this attic room, you can see stars through the skylight at night.
天窗。
Tā xīn mǎi de chē yǒu yí gè hěn dà de tiān chuāng.
His newly bought car has a large sunroof.
天窗，。
Wǒ jiàn yì wǒ men dǎ kāi tiān chuāng shuō liàng huà, zhí jiē shuō chū nǐ de xiǎng fǎ.
I suggest we speak frankly and say what's on your mind directly.

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.

天 refers to the sky or roof, and 窗 is a window, so the word means a window in a roof.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

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

穴囱窗

窗 combines 穴 (hole) with 囱 (window), giving the sense of an opening used as a window.

Appears in