奖杯 (jiǎng bēi) — trophy; trophy cup | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

奖杯 is the physical cup-shaped trophy you hold or raise after winning. 奖牌 is a flat medal; 奖 and 奖项 are abstract 'awards' (the honor itself), not the object.

noun

trophytrophy cup

Measure word · 座

Examples

奖杯。
Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng huò dé le jiǎng bēi.
He won a trophy in the competition.
奖杯。
Guàn jūn jiāo ào de jǔ qǐ le jiǎng bēi.
The champion proudly raised the trophy.
奖杯。
Zhè ge jiǎng bēi shì yòng chún yín zhì zuò de.
This trophy is made of pure silver.

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.

奖jiǎngaward

杯bēicup

“奖” is an award and “杯” is a cup, together forming a cup given as a prize.

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 獎; 奖 is its simplified writing.

將犬獎

Meaning part形符xíngfú

犬犬quǎndog

Sound part声符shēngfú

將

將jiāng獎jiǎng

Same sound today

The traditional form 獎 pairs 將 as a sound part with 犬, a dog; the simplified 奖 is a later shorthand. The evidence says the dog part's meaning is unclear, perhaps referring to guiding a dog by voice.

Open 奖 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木不杯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mù

Sound part声符shēngfú

不

不bù杯bēi

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

杯 is built from 木, meaning wood, and 不, which gives the sound.

Open 杯 →

Appears in